Avatar: The Last Jedi
by jdude281
Summary: Jonathan Rahhn was a Jedi Knight during the clone wars. One night, around the end of the war, order 66 was initiated. After fighting for his life he was about to be struck down by the newly anointed Darth Vader, when he was transported to a new world full of new problems, and hero's. Will he be able to help, or will he fall down the dark path, as many have before him?
1. Order 66

Hello Every, this is my Very First Story, and I hope it's a good one. I thought it up while reading some other Fanfictions. Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Star Wars, are both things i sadly do not own. The only thing I own is the OC, and some of the story ideas that might come up later. I hope you like it. Review, and tell me what you think, what i did good, what i did wrong. This Is my Very first story so it's bound to be filled with mistakes. But Anyway. Enjoy

Prologue

 **Jonathan**

My name is Jonathan Rahhn, one year ago I was promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight by the council, one of the youngest ever at the age of 17. At the time the galaxy was a strange and dangerous place, we were in the middle of a war. The Clone Wars. A faction of Separatists from the Republic, lead by the rogue Jedi turned Sith lord Count Dooku who became their Head Of State.

At the time, i thought the galaxy couldn't get much worse. Oh how wrong was I. Only a year after the promotion we were nearing the end of the war. During the night, a strange increasing sense of foreboding rising over the temple that night on Coruscant. A dark presence was approaching, although who, what, or when was a mystery to all, even the few master's who remained, not out fighting in the war.

Me being my Jedi self attempted to meditate, to find my center, to attempt to find peace, and what this dark presence was. Meditating in 'The Room of a Thousand Fountains', While searching the force, i saw a flash, and suddenly, I was caught up in the middle of a vision. I was shocked, Countless Jedi slew at the hands….of a lightsaber wielding dark sider, followed by an army of…. CLONES!? But that's not the only thing that caught me off guard. No, my attention drawn to the lightsaber. It was….Blue? A fallen Jedi perhaps!?

"NO!" He had been….slaughtering...children…..younglings. I have to do something, i had to stop this. I leapt from my sitting position, I ran out of the room. _I have to reach the masters_ I thought. _I have to warn them….before it's too late._ Only to stop dead in my tracks, all around me I heard screaming, saw the bodies of fallen jedi, both Knights, and Padawans alike, and standing over them, were the clones who murdered them. I barely had time to react. In an instant after i had come barging out into the hall, the clones turned to me, prepared to fire, and they did exactly that.

Igniting my blue blade, I slashed in and parried, deflecting the bolts back at the clones, (luckily there were only five of them remaining) killing them without a second thought. I could barely stand, not only the sight of the dead brothers and sisters, but the feeling in the force was _" …...Oppressive."_ The feeling of Jedi being slaughtered across the galaxy by the Clones that we had trusted, with our lives.

 _How can they do THIS!? After all we've gone through, all we've done together, HOW CAN THEY JUST BETRAY US!?_ I thought, so many clones had been our friends, and now they just turn, on us without a second thought, it was horrible. I looked horrified over the bodies of the dead, the scorch marks on the walls, everything. A lone tear ran down my face before i wiped it away. " I have to stop this, I had to help, save as many as I can before we are all killed."

Releasing my negative thoughts, and feelings into the force, I ran forward, defending as many jedi as i could from the clones, as i could attempting to rally them to fight back. But their was to many.

 _NOOO! It can't end like this, we can't have fought so hard just for naught._ Then I felt something, a disturbance in the force, one I knew all too well. The Dark Side. Only much stronger, not like Ventress, or some of the other fallen Jedi i had faced. No, this was powerful, not just a fallen jedi, but a sith. A Dark Lord of The Sith. I turned to my fellow Jedi, "We must fall back, gather who you can then retreat to the hanger."

A young padawan no older than 14, came up to looking indignant. "Knight Rahhn we cannot leave now, we must fight, secure the temple, and get rid of these bastards." I never had a chance to respond. Suddenly a surge of dark energy reached out and grabbed the young padawan, and strangled him, then pulled him toward the cloaked man who had just entered the room. A blue blade of a lightsaber coming out the front of the boy's chest, having been stabbed right in the heart.

Suddenly a rush of emotions raced through me, rage at the boys sudden and violent death, sadness for the loss of another fellow Jedi, shock at the suddenness, and anger at the man who had done this. I attempted to release my emotions, but to no prevail. "NOO!" I screamed as i watched the man pull the boy off his lightsaber, and walk forward as if nothing followed closely by his clones. I sent a powerful force wave at the approaching figures, succeeding at sending the remaining six or so clones into the wall behind them knocking them unconscious, but only succeeding in staggering the dark sider back slightly as he put up his hand to block the attack.

I turned to the other couple padawans behind me who yet lived, one a short Twi'Lek with light green skin, only about 13, who had been shot in the shoulder, and the foot and limping, along with an older human boy who was around 18, who had lost much of his upper robe, but was other wise just winded.

"You two must go, get to the hanger, and leave this place, before it is too late I will hold him off!" I turned back to face the dark sider, who just appeared to be standing their surprisingly still in the middle of the hall, his hood covering his face. I ran at him, yelling " RUN!" at the younglings while doing so. They hesitated, then obeyed, and ran for the hanger.

We both swung our blades, meeting in a blade lock. " You are only prolonging the inevitable", he said in a cold, emotionless, yet strangely familiar voice, " Give up now and you will have the benefit of a quick death", he said in a somehow even colder voice, looking up to allow me to see his face.

 _NO, I'T CAN'T BE!_ Under the hood was the face of 'Anakin Skywalker', 'Jedi Knight', 'Hero With No Fear', 'Chosen One' of the 'Jedi Order'. I had met him several times over the course of the war, either in the training room in his Djem so class, or occasionally on the battlefield. He had been my secret idle over my time as a Jedi. From what i heard he was one of the best of the order, and the best master of Djem So, my primary form, as well.

To say i was shocked was an understatement, i was filled with Disbelief, horror, and Rage at the betrayal. "Why?" Was the only thing i could ask.

"The Jedi were Weak, they allowed the war to be prolonged by the corrupt politicians, and Bureaucrats. It's time a new order be put in place. To replace, the corrupt Republic, and the Jedi!" We continued to fight, attacking and parrying blows back and forth, but it was a hopeless contest. Not only was a tired from fighting for my life, but I had lost most of my will to fight after I found out who the man under the hood was, my idle. Not to mention the fact that he is the chosen one, and the best fighter in the order, I was completely out matched.

With one final heavy slash, i was knocked to the ground, my many minor injuries, and fatigue final taking hold. _I guess I should prepare myself to become one with the force, hopefully i bought the other's time to escape,... if they got past the clones._

I looked up to the face of the man who was once the hero of many, now as he stared down, irises glowing a sickly yellow, the destroyer of hope, as he smiled sinisterly down at me, " Prepare yourself Jedi, you fought well today, but you like every other Jedi, are no match for the power of the dark side."

So quickly, almost so that one might say it never was there at all, there was a waver on his face, as he looked down his eyes turning back to blue, and his facing softening just a tinge, looking almost sorrowful, regretful. But as soon as it was their it was gone, he slashed down dealing what I thought would be the final blow.

I closed my eyes, thinking it was over. Then everything went black.

 **Anakin/Vader**

Vader was in shock. So much so that for a moment he reverted back to Anakin. Eyes returning to their normal blue. "What happened, I was about to strike him down, but then…..WHAT AM I DOING!?"

He internally struggled for a moment before he returned to Vader mode, eyes returning to their yellow color. _"YOU'RE DOING THIS TO SAVE PADME, SO SHE DOESN'T END UP LIKE…..mom!"_ "I mustn't lose focus, I can't allow the Jedi he was protecting to to get away, or i may not be strong enough to save her, and they may start Rebellion against my Master. He does not mater, he is dead, just like he should be, yes, just like the others."

 **Katara**

We ran. Going on that ship had obviously been a bad idea.

 _See Katara, this is why Gran-Gran told you not to go their, but like a child you went anyway._ She thought scolding herself.

 _Though on the other hand this all was sort of exciting, even with that booby trap, I haven't had this much fun in ages. And it's all thanks to a boy we found in an Ice Berg._ She thought smiling.

Before she could continue this train of thought a bright flash of light appeared out of nowhere in front of the young air, and waterbender. They both averted their gazes, from the blinding white light. Then it vanished, as quickly is it had appeared, was the figure of a man, laying on the ice in front the two.

" Woah," Aang said, mesmerized, "what was that light?" " I don't know, Aang but it almost looked similar to when you came out of that Iceberg."

"Wait! Katara, look, there's a guy over there!" Aang quickly said both nervously, and excitedly.

 _What?_ Katara thought, confused. _Two times in one day? A blinding flash of light happens and then some mysterious stranger pops up out of nowhere._ "Katara, I think he's hurt, we need to help."

Katara looked thoughtfully at the the still body lying across from them. "We can take him back to the village, there we may be able to help him, and maybe figure out who he is, where he might have come from."

Aang nodded as they both began to approach him, with a slight hint of caution. As they got closer, Katara began to study him with a curious expression on her face, he appeared to wear some light colored robe looking things, a brown cloak, boots, belt with a metal buckle, and he had a strange cylindrical tube looking thing in his hand. He appeared to have some lightly tanned skin, along with dark brown curly hair, which was left slightly long just covering the tips of his ears. He had a broad jaw which had some some slight fuzz from what looked like the beginning of facial hair. He also had an average sized nose, but she couldn't tell what color his eyes were as they were closed. He appeared to be slightly on the taller size at around 6 feet tall, he appeared to be in his late teens, probably about 17 or 18. She noticed his chest gently, and rhythmically going up, and down, putting her slightly at ease.

 _He appears to have minor injuries all over the place, and he looks pretty sweaty, must have been in battle or something. At Least he's breathing normally, so he should be alright, but why is he unconscious then?_ She thought as she, along with Aang began to attempt to carry him back to the small village.

Suddenly remembering the Village, and how much trouble they were probably in, she thought.

 _We're in such big trouble, hopefully we can get back and explain the situation and they won't be to made at us. Then we can get this guy some treatment, and he'll be okay, hopefully._

 **Time Skip to back at the Village**

As Aang, and Katara walked back, they could already see the Village gathered at the edge of the Village. From the faces in the crowd, Katara could already tell this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Aang's back!" One of the children exclaimed, as all of the little one's ran up to Aang happily, putting a slight smile on both of their faces. Then Sokka stepped up front of the crowd and pointed accusingly at Aang.

"I knew It!" "You signaled the fire navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us aren't you?" He said, not even noticing the unconscious man the two had been carrying back.

Katara got an annoyed look on her face. "Sokka, if you haven't noticed, we've got injured with us, can we at least attend to him before we get on with who's fault this is." Sokka looked down finally noticing the unconscious teen, expression softening for a moment before he got a look of confusion, and suspicion, on his face. " Who's he?" He asked.

"We're not sure, we kinda just found him in the path, on our way back. He was like this, when we found him." Aang explained.

Sokka looked back at the unconscious teen, thoughtfully for a moment. "Alright, we'll let him in and treat him, but as soon as he wakes up we need to find out who he is, and why he was out their."

Katara got a small smile on her face as the children walked back to the crowd, and two healers from the village came to get the teen, and bring him to one of the healing huts. "Thank you Sokka."

Sokka nodded before his expression turned hard again, and looked back at Aang accusingly. "Now, back to the matter at hand." He said forcefully. "It's true isn't, you're with the fire nation, aren't you?"

Katara stepped forward defensively, "Aang didn't do anything, it was an accident."

"Yeah," continued Aang, "we we're on the ship, and there was this booby trap, and well….we boobied right into it." He said rubbing his head sheepishly.

Katara withered a bit, as Gran-Gran stepped forward, with a very disapproving look on her face. "Katara, you knew that you shouldn't have gone on that ship! Now we could all be in danger!" Katara looked down dejectedly at her Grandmother's words.

 _I can't believe I allowed this to happen, now i've let everyone down._ Aang looked sorrowful for the display he saw in front of him. "It wasn't her fault!" He protested, then looked down also dejectedly. "I brought her, there. It was my fault." Though this did not help to placate Sokka in the slightest, only making him more angry.

"So the traitor confesses! The foreigner is hereby banished from our village." He said angrily.

"Sokka, you're making a mistake." Katara insisted, getting irritable, and defensive. But Sokka did not waver on his stance.

"No, i'm keeping my promise to dad. I'm protecting you from threats like him" Pointing at Aang.

Katara, was really beginning to heat up at her brother's accusations. _Can't they see that Aang is not the enemy here. He clearly is not fire nation, and we had so much fun together"_ "Aang is not our enemy." She said turning to face the tribe. "Aang brought us something I haven't had in a long time, fun!"

"Fun? We can't fight firebenders with fun! Just get out of our village, Now!" Sokka exclaimed getting more frustrated.

Katara, then looked pleadingly towards her Grandmother. "Grandmother please, don't let Sokka do this."

But her grandmother did not back up Katara. "Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden, Sokka is right. I think it would be best if the airbender leaves."

Katara was outraged, _Not only is he my friend, and really fun to be around, but he's also my one chance of getting an actual waterbending master to teach me, and they want to Banish him? How could they all be so blind._

"FINE!" She finally yelled, her built up frustration finally boiling over. "Then i'm banished too, come on Aang, let's go." She said loudly, surprising just about everyone, grabbing Aang's arm and walking away.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Sokka yelled after them.

"Aang, is taking me to the North Pole, where I can find a Waterbending master." She replied.

"I am?" Was all the still surprised Aang could get out as they walked away.

"You would choose a waterbending master, and Aang over your tribe, your family?" Sokka now much quieter asked.

Katara stopped. _Is Sokka right, am I really choosing this boy I just met, and a master, i don't know over everything i've ever know? Should I?_

Katara looked down sadly, then Aang intervened.

"I don't want to get in between you and your family." He said as he backed away from Katara slowly.

Katara looked back up sadly almost misty eyed. "So this is it? This is goodbye?" She asked sadly.

Aang nodded sadly. "Thanks for penguin sledding with me." He thanked smiling sadly. He then walked over to Appa and jumped on top of him grabbing his reigns, looking wistfully back one last time.

Sokka looked skeptically up at the Bison, still not believing that it can actually fly. "Let's see see him fly now." He said skeptically and sarcastically.

Aang looked down at Appa, looking hopeful. "Come on Appa, you can do it. Yip, Yip." And with a flick of the reigns, Appa slowly got up but did not begin to fly away, still to tired to do so.

"Yeah, I thought so." Sokka said smugly, as he watched, leaving Katara even more miffed than before.

 _Can't he be even a little respectful? GAH..even now he's annoying._ Katara thought annoyed with Sokka's attitude. As Appa began to walk away, Katara's grandmother walked up to her and put a comforting hand on Katara's shoulder, trying to help her at least a little. "Katara-" She began before being cut off by Katara, looking back angrily at her grandmother. "Are you happy now?" She asked angrily. "There goes my one chance of becoming a waterbender!" She yelled as she stormed off, leaving Kanna (the name of her grandmother) looking down sadly.

 _I can't believe this, they are both so blind! AHHHH! Well at least we still have that injured guy with us. Maybe i can go check on him, see if he's woke and feeling better yet. Maybe he can help me. He doesn't exactly look like a waterbender, but there's just something special about him. I can feel it._ Katara thought trying to think positively again, as she walked off to check on their newest guest, as the rest of the tribe prepared for the fire nation.


	2. Revelations

**Jonathan**

Visions plagued me. _I thought I would be able to rest in peace once I died. Instead the afterlife is just as chaotic, and confusing as the living realm._ I saw things that made no sense, yet seemed familiar, which made me even more confused than i already was. I saw myself, only not as a Jedi, but a normal kid, with a family, two parents, and a younger brother. I felt love, so strong that if i wasn't already dead, I most likely would have passed out, or atleast fallen over, but one can't really fall over with no physical form. More, and more visions came, all of them familiar, yet none were things he remembered.

 _Even the technology is different, yet it all seems familiar. These don't feel like normal visions, they feel more like memory flashes. But that's impossible._

" _ **Not as impossible as you might think young one."**_ I was startled from my thoughts by the voice that had just spoken.

"I don't know your voice, yet there seem to be no foul intentions about you, who are you, and where am I?" I questioned.

 _ **"I am Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and you are not dead if that is what you're thinking."**_

I was slightly caught off guard by this, not only was i not dead, but I was now speaking to my second former masters former master. "How am i not dead, i was fighting Anakin, and he had me were he wanted me, i saw him swing, and I blacked out. How is it i'm not dead? And how is it that I know talking to THE Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who was killed during the duel with the Zabrak sith apprentice on Naboo?" I asked even more confused than before.

" _ **I know all of these things Jon. You are here because it is the will of the force, and I am here to be your guide on path now set before you."**_ He said leaving me no less confused than before.

"Yes, but how and why, how is it you're speaking to me? What path? And why?"

" _ **I have discovered a path back, so that i may maintain my consciousness, and speak to you, that path is to help a new world back on course, to help that worlds heroes to bring balance. And it is you because you are one of the best suited for it. You are strong, and you are young. That gives you a great advantage, over others. You will fit in well here."**_

"But what about back home, what happened to the Jedi, the Republic, i'm needed their." \

Qui-Gon replied softly _**"The Jedi have fallen, few yet remain, and the ones that do have gone into hiding, hiding away their abilities from the new Empire, that has been established. You would not be of much good, even with you their, the fate of the galaxy can only be restored, by the son of the Chosen one."**_ I was shocked yet again, Anakin had a son, which means Anakin had fallen in love.

"Is that how he fell through his attachments?" I asked.

Qui-Gon quickly replied _**"Yes and no. His attachments were used against him, but the hate, and seeds of the Dark Side had been planted long before that, it was not love that drove him towards darkness, but it was the call of darkness and it's power that finally caused his turn. Love is an emotion of the light, attachment is not of either, but can be used to turn someone from light to dark in the correct circumstances. Remember this in time Jonathan."**_ I nodded in slight understanding, and accepting his advice, but i was still confused, by his answers only resolving to solve the puzzle later, I still had one final question to ask.

"What about these visions i've been having, they seem so familiar, but are so strange, compared everything I have ever seen in my life? What are they, and why have I been given them?"

" _ **Ah yes, the visions you have received are actually memories, of another version of you, living in a different world."**_ Startling me again to the point I might have fainted, or fallen over had I been able to, and not been in this spirit form, or what ever this was. _**"As to why you have been given these memories, you will just have to sort that out on your own."**_ He said just as vague, as with all of the other answers, causing me to start to get frustrated before releasing most of my emotions away. _**"Now I must leave you. The world needs you, and you must face your destiny. May the force be with you."**_

And just like that he was gone leaving me. Then the area around me began to grow brighter, to the point of discomfort before I finally awoke.

I shot up, finding myself inside of what appeared to be a small tent made of Animal skins, laying on and under blankets made of similar material on top of packed snow and ice. Despite the cold appearance, the inside of this small hut was quite warm. I looked down to find my upper robes had been removed, and my wounds taken care of. I went to go get my clothes, and lightsaber, when i heard a women shout, in what sounded like fear.

I tensed, senses going into high alert. I reached out to feel who was in the area, there was a group of people outside, though none of them felt force sensitive, there was a vibe about some of them, that made me cautious, especially one. He felt like he had the presence of a young boy but, had an immeasurable control over his emotions for someone who was not a jedi. And their was a power emanating from within the boy, but it was not the force, it was something else entirely.

Quickly i gathered my lightsaber, and stealthily moved outside to the nearest cover i could find, luckily i was at the back of the small village I appeared to be in which was filled with more huts like the once i was just in, and was surrounded by a large wall of snow, but did not look very sturdy. _Quaint, it looks peaceful at least, if not a bit run down._

Looking to the front of the village i found the group of i had sensed earlier. Most of them were old women and young children, with the exception being the boy and girl at the front of the group who looked to be about 15, and 14. In front of them was a large metal ship of some sort, which was full of men in red metal armor. Being lead into the boat was the boy i had felt. He was wearing oddly colored clothing, and was bald, but that was not what caught my attention.

 _Does he have tattoos. They appear to be shaped like arrows, and are blue, but i don't understand why a boy of his age, has tattoos like that. He can't be more than twelve years old._ I thought as he was lead to the top of the ship, where they turned back to face the village, the boy looked down at the two in front of the group sadly before the ramp they had climbed up closed concealing them from those outside.

As the ship began to quickly retreat heading back what appeared to be north. _I need to help that boy, he's the key fixing whatever it is Qui-Gon wants me to fix, i'm sure of it. But I can't just run up and storm the ship. From the vibes i'm picking up, those armored guys clearly aren't to be underestimated. They aren't Mandalorians, but they could still put up a fight. I need a plan._

I looked around thoughtfully, my gaze landing back on to the group of kids at the front of the group that was now beginning to disperse, they both looked sad at the lose of the bald one, but they also had a determined look. _I get the feeling the feeling i may need those two, the are just as important as that other kid is._ Making my decision i stood up from my hiding place, and began to walk forward towards the now thinning group. Many of the women looked up at me fearfully, while the little ones had an odd mixture of curiosity, fear, and excitement.

I smiled down at them as i continued to walk up behind the two in the front. Now that i could get a better look one of them they appeared to be siblings. They boy wore a short ponytail in the back, with the top cut short, and the sides shaved off completely, the girl had her black hair in some sort of hair loopies. Both had slightly dark skin, with blue eyes, and they both wore blue clothing made to be warm do to the chilly environment.

Both finally noticing me turned around. The girl studying me carefully, with both slight fear, and an overwhelming amount of hope as well. The boy on the other hand was sizing me up. Probably trying to see whether or not i was a threat, to put him at ease, a put on a more casual posture, and stance.

 **Sokka**

 _I can't believe it._ Sokka thought mystified by what he had just seen. _The kid I just threw out was the avatar, not only that but he came back to save us, and gave himself up for the entire village. How could I have miss judged him so._

Sokka heard shuffling behind him, and some murmuring from some of the villagers. He turned around carefully to find himself face to face with the guy Aang, and Katara had found out in the wilderness. He had a slightly casual stance, and a friendly yet concerned expression on his face, but he had the air of a warrior about him.

Now that he was awake, and standing he could get a better look at him. He could see that like he thought he was on the tall side with a muscular build to him, due to the fact that he was not wearing anything except for the wraps for his injuries on his upper body. _How is he not freezing, were in south pole and he just walks outside like it's nothing._ He looked up to his eyes, to see that they were brown. _"He doesn't appear fire nation, and he looks friendly enough, but i just don't know."_ He thought suspicion creeping back in.

Then he spoke in a slightly deep yet still friendly and welcoming voice, as if he heard what he was thinking. "Do not be concerned I am not hear to harm you. I want to help you get your friend back." He said. Katara, looked up at him excitedly.

"I want to come with you." She said, followed by Sokka

"Don't forget about me, i'm not gonna just stay behind and let you go with the stranger to get Aang then all over the world together alone. I've got your back."

The stranger looked down with a slightly amused look, as Katara looked surprised, yet pleased back at Sokka. "Thank you so much." She said as she ran over to hug him. After the hug Sokka looked up to the stranger. "Hey if we're gonna be working with you, I would just like to know your name before hand. It would be kind awkward if we had to call you stranger or something the whole time.

"Of course, my name is Jonathan Rahhn, though most people who know me just call me Jonathan or just Jon. Now may I ask for your names?" He asked good naturedly.

"Sure, i'm Katara, and this is my brother Sokka, she said implicitly."

His smile grew, "It is good to meet you both. Now we should prepare to leave so that we may catch up that boat. Do you have anything fast enough to keep up?"

Sokka looked down in though. _He has a point, how are we supposed to keep up with a fire nation warship? All we have are canoes, and that those won't be nearly fast enough to catch that thing. He thought._

Katara then chose that moment to pipe up. "What about Appa, Aang's flying bison?"

"Flying Bison?" Asked Jon who looked about as skeptical as Sokka had, and still does.

"Aang said he can fly, and right now Appa is the best shot we've got at following them." She said.

"Alright we will try the Bison, but we should prepare first, their is much to do."

He said, and with excellent timing Gran-Gran came up from behind us offering each of us a pack of supplies, and Jon's forgotten clothing. "Thank you for this gesture of kindness, miss…." he trailed trying to get Gran-Gran's name. "My name is Kanna, though just call me Gran-Gran" she said now turning to Sokka and Katara, smiling at them proudly. "You all have a long journey ahead of you. It's been so long since i've had hope. And you've brought it back to life." She said as she hugged them both. "Aang is the Avatar, he is the world's only chance, you both found him for a reason, now your destinies, are intertwined with his." As she said this The siblings looked at each other both with some concern, and fear at what awaited them."


	3. Rescue Mission

**Jonathan**

"Soooooo, what kinda skills you got?" Sokka asked somewhat awkwardly, as we made our way over to this 'flying Bison' or whatever Katara had said, which was made slower by the fact that they only knew the general direction it was in, and not the actual location. "Are you a bender, or what? It would be kinda nice to know what kinda allie we've made with you, especially with rescuing Aang, and all of the other traveling we're going to be doing."

This was difficult, to talk about my backstory was going to be difficult, along with the fact that they probably won't know what the force is, they probably would not believe a word I say about the where I come from. I knew that just about nothing in this world was mechanized from what I could see around me, and I could sense an ongoing conflict. One that had drawn on for a very long time. But other than this, I knew none of the rules of this world. It was confusing, and strange to awaken in a world were you know almost nothing. _For know, I should stick to what they know, and I will find a way to discuss things with them when the time is right. It will be confusing, and I will need time to explain it. Although it will be hard to come up with something to say to them_ I thought.

"No Sokka, I'm not a Bender, although I do also have….other skills, that will be useful, especially on the journey we are about to partake in." This somewhat cryptic answer did not seem to put the boy at ease. He eyed me with a somewhat calculating, and somewhat skeptical gaze. He didn't trust me yet, which from what I know of this world, is only to expected, it is hard to trust when you have lived in such a chaotic world your whole life.

"Ok, so what skills would these be?" Katara, bumped in.

"I'm, a Master of hand to hand combat, as well as a master swordsmen. I also have some experience with strategic analysis." I replied, only informing them of my physical skill, and none of my force based powers.

"So you're a soldier then? Were you Earth Kingdom? And if you are a swordsmen, where's your sword?" Sokka asked, from what I could tell he was still trying to ferret out if I was a threat, but he was being surprisingly subtle about it from what I could tell, for his personality.

"Yes, I was a General, I had my own regiment of troops, and we were fending off foreign troops from entering our home. But we, were betrayed, one of our own had allowed troops to get in behind us, and cut us down, I had been at the front at the time, and was the lone survivor. As soon as they cut my men down, they tore through the town, killing and plundering as they went, destroying my home, my family, and everything, I had ever know." I said, using some of the truth to fill in parts of my life. Though as I said this, my anger for that night grew to the point where some slipped into my calm demeanor before I could reign back in my emotions. _I must work harder not to lose control of my emotions like that, the purge is something I am going to have to face. I can't allow that night corrupt me with the same fate that caused Skywalker to rain destruction down upon us. I must gain control._

The two siblings gained sollom looks on their faces as I said that, looking sympathetic for my situation, which at least helped me feel better a bit. "We're sorry, that must have been so devastating to go through." Katara said.

We fell into silence, until finally we rounded a corner and found what I assume to be Appa, the 'flying Bison', who appeared to have been coming our way from the tracks left behind him. He was quite large, about as big as a clone gunship, he had white fur, six legs, and what appeared to be an arrow painted into his fur running down his back from head to tail. He also had what appeared to be a giant saddle on his back.

After we had gotten on back, packed in our stuff, I sat near the front, while Katara sat on Appa's head holding the reins, that were tied to the Bison's horns. And Sokka sat near the back, with the same doubtful and skeptical expression as before. I decided to ask the question that was probably on everyone's minds at the moment. "So does anyone know how to fly this thing? I just got here so I have know idea, do either of you know?"

They both shook their head, and I sighed, as we all began to think of how to get him up and flying.

"Go, fly, soar." Was all Sokka said in a dreary, and sarcastic tone, that caused me annoyance, and amusement all at the same time.

"Please Appa, we need your help, Aang needs your help." Katara said pleadingly. .

"Up, ascend, elevate." Sokka continued, starting to get more annoying than amusing.

"Sokka doesn't believe you can fly, but I do, come one don't you want to save Aang?" Katara, said, as should as she started rubbing the top of Appa's head, but all Appa did was release a small groan.

As this happened, I sat thinking, of how to get him to fly. I had no idea how this could work. I could attempt to use beast control on Appa, but I was never the best at the telepathic sides, of the force. I could use Mind trick, and read a person's emotions just as well as any other jedi, but beast control and reading a person's thoughts always seemed to elude me.

"What was it that kid said?" Sokka suddenly asked from behind causing me to turn to lack at him. "Yee-haw, hup-hup, uhh, Yip-Yip." Appa seemed to respond to this, as he started to rumble slightly, and all of a sudden, we were flying up above the water heading north, somehow Apppa, seemed to know exactly where to go, to find the boy. _Most likely, some time of bond, maybe like a force bond._ All of us were pretty excited, though I was the most reserved. Sokka however was ecstatic about this.

"You did it Sokka." Exclaimed Katara from the front.

"He's flying, he's flying, Katara he's…" Sokka stopped as he looked forward to see Katara, giving him a sly smile, and me having an upturned eyebrow at him.

He quickly changed up his toon. "I mean, big deal he's flying", causing me to snicker slightly at the not so smooth cover up for his change in attitude.

 **Time Jump: Almost at the ship**

We had flown for some time now, in mostly silence as we waited in anticipation for when we would catch up to the ship, that had the kid on it. It took, at least a good 20 minutes, but we were able to finally catch up to it.

"Look, down there, is that them?" Sokka asked spotting the ship.

I looked down to see what it was Sokka was talking about. The ship was no more than a quarter mile a way now, and we were getting closer. As we were finally close enough to make out details, I saw what looked like the kid from before, fighting, one of the soliders, who was shooting blasts of fire from his fists. Aang was spinning his staff, most likely using Another type of bending to. Probably to do with the air, to dissipate the blasts, but even if he didn't get burned, the force of the blasts was still strong enough to push him backwards, causing him to fall of the edge, into the icy waters below.

"AANG, NO!" Katara yelled out as we all looked down in disbelief. I was about to jump down and try to help him, but I felt something. It was almost like a whisper, similar to the Force, yet different. It told me to watch. I was reluctant to trust, whatever this was. But I also felt the force telling me to do the same, so I waited, as Katara continued to yell Aang's name.

Suddenly, their was a hug blast of water upwards, revealing Aang on top of a cyclone of water. Only now Aang's tattoos, and eyes were glowing white, and immense power was flowing off of him. This was all to similar to what I had seen on Mortis, when Anakin had used the power of the daughter to free Ahsoka from the Dark Side, and the son's control. Anakin had glowed similarly. After we had returned I had gone to the archives to do studies, on this and found mention of an ability called, 'oneness with the force'. The difference being, Anakin had needed help to do that. Aang, did not. He had done this alone, and now, he had immense power flowing through him. The power felt like light, peace, balance. It felt good.

Aang fell back onto the deck of the ship, and used the water he was still bending to create, a massive wave, knocking down all of the fire nation soldiers, that had been on deck, and causing the one Aang had been fighting earlier, to fall overboard.

We all stared down in shock. "Did you see what he just did?" Katara asked in awe.

"Now that was some waterbending." Sokka said in reply, with just as much awe as Katara.

"That truly was a unique, and awesome display of power." I added. This definitely was a unique experience, I had never seen anything like this before. This planet, and the abilities these people had were like nothing my old galaxy had ever been able to show me. I don't know if Qui-Gon was right about all of this, that I would be able to help, but I do know that this would definitely be a learning experience.

As we flew down, and landed, Aang began to collapse, his glow dissipating, and his energy spent. Katara, and Sokka began to run over to them, and followed, all though, at a much slower pace, as I assessed, the damage, that Aang had caused, and the emotions of the people. Many were filled with anger, though, not like the sith and of the dark side, I could tell their Anger was what fueled their power. The most angry though was the man Aang had been fighting, that I could sense was hanging on the the anchor. I could sense, their was much good in him, but it had been clouded by anger, despair, and an overwhelming need to restore a lost honor. I didn't know what had caused this in the young man, but it was a sad sight to see. He almost reminded me of a younger, more inexperience version of Anakin. Which pained me. I would do what I could to help him, since I could not help Anakin.

As Katara, and Sokka tended, to the barely conscious Aang, I looked over to where I could sense, the young man just out of sight. I could see Aang's glider, so I walked over with some caution to grab it. As I did, the young man grabbed on, and looked up at me. I gave him a sympathetic face which stopped him. Now that I could get a good look at him, I can see he has a horrible burn scar over his left eye that goes all the way to his ear. He also has gold eyes though they are not like that of a dark sider, they are this color naturally, which makes me slightly curious, but I push that aside for a later date. "I can sense, you are a good man, do not lose yourself to hate, anger, and despair. These things can destroy a person, I have seen it before. Do what you feel is right, not what you think, others think you should do."

His eyes went wide as I sad this. I then use the force to lower him back down to the anchor, so that he does not have enough time to climb back up before we escape. He looks even more shocked now, being moved without me even touching him. I give him one last look then turn back to the others, to see Sokka watching just as wide I eyed, as the boy. "How did you do that?" He asked. "You pushed him down without even touching him. I thought Aang was supposed to be the last Airbender?"

I look at him for moment, then hand him the staff, and reply "I can tell you after we get to safety, now let's get on Appa, and get out of here." I reply in a calming yet firm tone. He nods and turn back to app, and we both run over to the Bison. Some of the soldiers, had started to get back up now, and are walking menacingly over to Katara. I tried to run over to help, but she tried to waterbend, but accidentally froze both me, and Sokka, to the ground. She then turned, and tried it again, this time freezing the soldiers, in place.

I used the Force to break the ice around my feet, while Sokka uses his boomerang to do the same. Katara looks at me curiously for a moment, before we all hopped on Appa, and we take off. As we flew away, I sensed a presence come up on deck. He seems old, but also very wise, still a firebender, but not filled with hate, and anger as the others, but compassion, and kindness. I turn curiously, to see an old man, quite stout, but with proud, yet wisdom bering stance. He was currently helping the boy from before, up on the ship.

After they are both standing they both shoot a massive fire blast at us. As i prepared to try and redirect the blast, Aang jumped past me and uses his staff which now has orange material sticking out the back like the wings of a glider, and used airbending to propel the blast into an icy cliff causing an avalanche that falls down on the ship stopping it in it's tracks. Allowing us to escape, giving all of us a huge sense of relief. Our missions was a success.

 **Zuko**

"Good news for the fire lord. The fire nation's greatest threat, is just a little kid." Said Uncle Iroh.

"That kid uncle, just did this," Said Zuko as he looked about the damage that had been caused. He was quietly fuming. He had had him. He had the Avatar, on this ship, the ticket to getting him home, and having his honor, and birthright restored. But instead of that, he escaped, causing a great deal of damage along the way. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind.

 _I can sense, you are a good man, do not lose yourself to hate, anger, and despair. These things can destroy a person, I have seen it before. Do what you feel is right, not what you think, others think you should do. "What could he mean, why would he say something like that. It's almost as if he knew something about me, possible more, than I do, but i've never seen him before in my life. And what was that power he used, he pushed me without touching me. Could he be another Airbender, is their another besides the avatar?"_

Iroh, sensing his nephew hesitation, walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "What is it? What has you so contemplative all of a sudden?" He asked in a kind voice.

"It was one of the ones that came to rescue the avatar, he was oddly dressed with some type of robe, and cloak. He told he knew I was a good person, but my vision was clouded, then he pushed me down to the bottom of the anchor without even touching me. Uncle, is it possible that their is another airbender out their?"

"It is hard to say, since I have not seen this person, nor have I have I seen another airbender, except for the Avatar, when you brought him on board. But from what you say, he has much wisdom, which from the old tales, is something the nomads were known for." Iroh's words seemed to only confirm, Zuko's suspicions for him, fuming again, he turned to his crew, to start giving orders.

 **Jonathan**

"How did you do that? With the water?" Asked Katara excitedly, "It was the most amazing thing i've ever seen."

Aang was sitting on the edge of the saddle, with a sad expression on his face, then turned to Katara to answer. "I don't know, I just sorta did it."

"How, come you didn't tell us you were the Avatar?" She asked more calmly this time.

"Because I never wanted to be." He answered looking back down. From what I could tell Aang was in the same position that Anakin had been, he was just a boy, yet he had had the whole world placed upon his shoulders, and was tasked with keeping balance in a very chaotic world.

"I can see why this would be hard for you Aang, you're just a kid, and yet the world is calling you to action to fix it's problems, it not a thing that can be done easily." I said trying to be sympathetic to the boy, who continued to look of in the distance.

"Aang, the world has been waiting for the Avatar to return, and finally put an end to this war?" Katara continued.

"And how am I supposed to do that? Like, that guy just said, I'm just a kid."

"According to legend, you're supposed to master first water, than earth, than fire right?"

"That's what the Monks told me." Aang said looking back over at us.

"Well if we go to the north Pole, you can master waterbending." She said getting excited.

"We can learn it together." Aang said, his mood lifting.

"And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get knock so firebender heads along the way." Katara said trying to get him in on this.

"I'd like that, I'd really like that." He said.

"So, what about you?" Aang asked, "I didn't get to meet since you were still out by the time the fire nation arrived. Who are you anyway?" Now everyone was looking at me. _I suppose now's as good a time to tell them about myself as any. My real self anyway. Though i'm still confused about what all is going on, it is the only way to secure there trust. I must tell them the truth about who I really am._ I looked up at them as I thought of what to say.

"I suppose I should reintroduce myself to you while i'm at it. What I told you was part true, but not all of it was." Sokka is glaring at me, obviously angry for me lying, even if it was only in part, while Katara and Aang are looking curiously at me, waiting to see what it is I have to say.

"My name is Jonathan Rahhn, and well you see, I'm not actually from the Earth Kingdom, or any other nation. I'm not even from this world."

"So, what? Are you like, from the spirit world, or something?" Sokka asks, skepticism creeping into his voice.

"No, beyond the stars. There we have advanced technologies that allow us to travel to other planets, as well as many other incredible things." I respond.

This causes Aang to become excited. "Really!? That's so cool."

"But that doesn't explain how you were able to push that angry guy from before with out touching him." Sokka responds still skeptical.

"Or how you were able to break that ice without touching it. Are you a bender of some kind?" Katara asks as well.

"No, I am not a bender. Where I come from, their is no such thing as bending. What I did comes from something called the Force."

"The Force?" They all ask in unison.

"Yes, the Force is what gives, a Jedi their power. Of which I am part of the Jedi Order. The force is an energy field, that surrounds all living things. It penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together."

"Sounds like a bunch of spiritual gibberish to me." Sokka responds, not giving up on his attitude.

"Well, whether you believe in the force or not is irrelevant. The effects, are quite obvious." As I say this, i begin to meditate, and use the force to lift my lightsaber into the air in front of me.

"Woah, that is so cooooool!" Aang exclaims, clearly impressed with my demonstration.

"So what is that anyway?" Katara asks pointing to my lightsaber, as I pull it back into my hand.

"This is a Lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi Knight." I say as i activate it, showing them the brilliant blue blade, causing them all, even Sokka, to marvel at it for a couple moments.

As we fly, I deactivate the blade, and continue to explain to them what a Jedi is, that we were peacekeepers, and protectors of the innocent. The ranks you could achieve, from Padawan, to Grand Master, and all of the different roles you can have in the order.

"Wow, your life must be pretty awesome. You get to go on so many adventures." Aang says, with his innocence shining through to us.

"How come you keep referring to the Jedi, in the past tense? Are the Jedi not still around?" Katara asks, causing me to look away, a sad expression coming to my face.

"That is, hard to talk about."

"We'll talking about it might help you feel better? Keeping all those pent up feelings in their can't be good for you either." Katara asks, clearly trying to help.

I nod, _She is right, just hiding my feelings away won't solve the problem, it will only exacerbate it._ I look at all of them. Then begin my tale. About the night the clones came to exterminate the Jedi, how I watched my brothers, and sisters fall, while I fought on. How I met and fought the traitor, the man who was, once my idle, once my friend, and once my brother in arms, Anakin Skywalker. How he was supposed to be the chosen one to bring balance, yet betrayed everything he ever knew for the dark side, and it's power.

They all looked down, as I finished my story. The mood had turned somber. Katara, and Aang were both crying, and Sokka looked like he might be holding tears back himself.

Katara, looks up to me. "I'm sorry, that must have been hard for you." She said. I look off into the distance.

"Yes, it was, and I should be dead right now. But i'm not. I've been given a second chance. If I can't help my home, then the least I can do, is help this world. I will come with you, and do everything I can to help restore balance to this world."

They all look, at me and smile, then they do the unexpected. Aang, and Katara hug me. Sokka hesitates, then shrugs, and does the same. I smile, a small tear running down my cheek, at this sign of companionship they have shown me, even if they have not known me long, heck Aang just met me ten minutes ago, but they are all still willing to accept me.

A warm feeling grows in my chest. It is the same one, that I get from the visions, from the other world. It is love. Love that can only come from family. They may not be blood, but they are willing to look out for me, and comfort me. It is not something I can say I have experienced very often, but now that I have it, I realise it is one that I have longed for. To be accepted, and have people who care for my well being.

"Thank you." I say simply, as they release me.

"We're in this together." Katara says.

"But, now that I have told you of who I am, and were i'm from, now i'm going to need you to tell me about yourselves." I say to them, in which they nod to me.

"Since i'm not from here, I know little about this world. If you wouldn't mind giving me a quick run down of the worlds recent history, so that I may have a firmer grasp on the situation. As I said we don't even have bending where i'm from, so it would be much appreciated if you could help explain."

"Ok, well then it's probably a good thing your already sitting down, because there's a lot to cover, and it may get a little...depressing." Sokka said bluntly, to which I nod.

They then begin there story. About the ability of the nations citizens to bend the four elements 'air, water, earth, and fire.' As well as the four nations, the 100 year war, and the Avatar. The person that could master all four elements, and was reborn every time they died into the next nation in the cycle. It was utterly mind boggling. In all my travels I had never heard anything like this. If I didn't have the force, I would almost think there lying to me. The ability to manipulate a material at such a degree and to have so much fine control over that material. Not to mention the avatar, who was apparently sitting right across from me. To hold so much raw power.

"Wow." I said amazed. "In all my life i've never heard of anything like this before. Of course with the likes of some of the other beings in my galaxy, I really shouldn't be that surprised."

"You've really never heard of bending before?" Katara asked me.

"No, not exactly." I said. "This will take some time for me to adjust to. But never the less I am with you. I will help you resolve this conflict, and finally bring peace, and balance, back to this world, and first we must get you both to the north pole."

"Alright, but before, I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to." Aang says as he opens up a map pointing out several locations were he would like us to got to.

Katara points out one of the locations. "What's their?"

"Here, we'll ride the hopping lamas, then way over here, we'll surf on the backs of giant coy fish, than back over here we'll ride the hog monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes them fun."

Aang smiles, as Katara, and Sokka look doubtfully at each other. I sigh, and smile slightly. "Just as long as we don't jump into a nest of gundarks." I say earning confused looks, from everyone. "Don't ask."

Aang, laughs excitedly, just like any kid, as we fly off into the distance for the first of many adventures.


	4. The Southern Air Temple

**Jonathan**

We'd been traveling for a couple of days now. Aang wanted to show us the southern air temple, which was exciting and frightening for me at the same time. From the ways Aang described it, the air nomads were similar to jedi, except for the fact that they are pacifists. I wanted to see the temple, to see how much it was similar to the jedi temple.

But I was also worried for Aang. According to Sokka and Katara, nobody had seen an air nomad in over a hundred years. Which was about the time the war started. Their wasn't too many options for explaining this disappearance, and this frightened me greatly. Not only was he still a boy, only 12, but he was also the Avatar, and had immense power. If he finds out what I'm starting to suspect happened, he could lose control, and that's not something anybody wants.

Of course, that's not my only problem. Ever since we've started traveling, i've been having nightmares, about the jedi, and the people from my past life along with other things. And tonight was no exception. Clouds of dark fog swirl around me. Voices whispered in my mind…

" _Just help me save Padme's life. I can't live without her."_

" _Henceforth you shall be know as Darth….Vader."_

" _The Republic, will be reorganized, into the first Galactic Empire. To secure our….Society."_

" _So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause."_

 _Voices shriek as they are cut down by a lightsaber._

" _Anakin, come back, I love you."_

" _LIAR!"_

" _Let her go Anakin."_

" _Anakin my allegiance is to the Republic, to DEMOCRACY."_

" _If you are not with me, than you are my enemy."_

" _I will do what I must."_

The fog clears revealing a landing platform on a lava world. To figures, one of light, and one of dark, ignite blue lightsabers, and begin ferocious, and titanic duel. Blades clash, punches are thrown, kicks are sent. They go all over what appears to be some sort of mining complex. They fight even on the lava river as the building collapses. Though their blows slow, their attacks continue.

They come upon the ridge, and the light sider, jumps to the cliff side, and turns to look at his opponent still standing on a platform floating just above the lava river.

" _It's over Anakin. I have the high ground."_

" _You underestimate my power!"_

" _Don't try it"_

The dark clad figure doesn't listen, and jumps trying to get over the light one and land behind him to stab him in the back. But this was expected, and the dark figure has his organic limbs chopped off leaving one mechanical right arm.

" _You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the sith not join them. Bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness."_

" _I HATE YOU!"_

" _You were my brother Anakin. I loved you"_

After this is said, what remains of the dark figure begins to catch fire, the light figure leaves him to burn, not having the stomach to kill the man he once called his brother. As he walks away, the screams of his friend can be heard from the distance.

Everything goes black, then a couple of lights come on. I am in a corridor, who knows where. Suddenly a mechanical sound like breathing starts up from behind me. I turn to see a tall man clad in black armor with a respirator. He simply stands there not moving, the only sound being his respirator. Though he doesn't say anything I can feel that he reeks of the dark side.

He activates a blood red lightsaber, and I activate my blue one. We stand there for a moment watching each other, then we both move. His blows are heavy due to his mechanical parts, and although the weight of the suit slows him down, that in no way means he is slow. Along with that, he is masterful in every move he makes. Though I am good, I am no match for him.

I try to force push him away, but he raises his right hand, and blocks the blow, and pushes back causing me to go sailing across the room. My lightsaber falls out of my hand, as I hit to back wall. Before I can grab it, he force pulls it to his left hand. I stand ready to defend myself but also ready to die, as that is the most likely outcome.

He deactivates his blade, and puts it back on his belt. Then raises his hand. He pulls someone forward from behind him.

"Callista!" I shout.

Callista Tye. She has been my best friend ever since I was brought to the temple. She was a year older than me, about 19 she had light brown hair and blue eyes. She was about 5' 6" and had a slightly slender frame. I was brought a little late, around the age of 6, so I was somewhat of an outcast, in the initiate clan I was put in. Callista was the first one to approach me.

"Hey, I haven't seen you around here before, what's your name?"

"I'm Jonathan Rahhn, though most just call me Jon, what's your name?"

"Cool, i'm Callista." She looks to the door, then back at me. Say want to come help me with my studies.

"Sure, I don't know what help i'll be, but okay."

Now I know she just wanted to hang out with me. She wanted to help me get out of my shell, and eventually I did. We became best friends, and if it hadn't been for the code, we might have been more. Neither of us spoke about it, but there had always been a mutual understanding between us.

The man drops her, and she falls to her knees. She looks at me, with a sad gaze.

"Why didn't you save me?" She asks

Before I can respond the man runs her through the chest with my lightsaber.

"NO!"

It is then that I wake up with a start. I look around and find that everyone is still asleep, but the sun is about to come up. I take a few moments to catch my breath before I get up, and prepare for the day. A couple minutes later, Aang wakes up followed quickly by Katara.

Aang is bouncing around all over excitedly preparing for our journey to the temple, which is about a half days journey, from our campsite. "Wait till you guys see it, the air temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world. He says while tightening the reins on Appa's horns.

"Aang," Katara begins "I know you're excited but it's been a hundred years, since you've been home." She is clearly following the same thought pattern that I have been since we set out.

"That's why i'm so excited." He replies, not following at all what our concerns are.

"It's just that a lot can change in all of that time." Katara explains trying to get the point across without hurting the boy.

"I know, but I need to see it for myself." He replies.

He jumps down off of Appa, and walks over the still sleeping Sokka, while I meditate, and Katara, continues to pack up.

"Wake up Sokka, air temple here we come."

Sokka groans, and rolls over. "Sleep know temple later." He says before going back to sleep. Aang then grabs a branch, and starts prodding Sokka's sleeping bag. "Sokka wake up, there's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag."

Sokka immediately jumps up, trying to get the 'snake' off of him, before tripping and landing face first in the dirt, several feet away from where i'm meditating. He looks up with a look of annoyance, while Katara, laughs at his misfortune, and I try to hold back a laugh, but fail to hid a smile.

"Great, your awake, let's go."

After a while of flying, an argument about Sokka's blubbered seal jerky, and more failed attempts, to prepare Aang for the worst, we finally reach the air temple. I look over it in awe. _It isn't the Jedi Temple, but it also has it's own beauty. This place is definitely a unique place to visit._ I think to myself as we prepare to land.

After we've landed, we begin to walk around, but their are no people, or even animals, anywhere to be seen, making both me and Katara, more worried about what probably happened.

"So where do I get something to eat." Sokka yet again is thinking about his stomach instead of anything important like, exploring the temple, or the possible fate of the nomads.

"You're one of the first outsiders lucky enough to allowed into and air temple, and all you can think about is food?" She asks, again mirroring my thoughts.

"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs." He says as we catch up to Aang who is waiting to show us something.

"That's where my friends, and I would hang out, and play air ball." He explains. "And over there is where the Bison would sleep, and….." He sighs, as he looks out on the what appears to be deserted area. I can understand his pain, and I'm now almost positive for the reason why no one is here.

"What's wrong?" Katara asks in a small comforting voice.

"This place used to be full of monks, and lemurs, and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds." His face falls a bit. "I can't believe how much things have changed." The depressed feeling Aang is getting to get to all of us, and the only thing I can think of to help is to distract him a bit. _But what can we do that would help? Huh, I suppose, I could ask him about that game he mentioned. I would probably the best choice anyways, since none of us are airbenders, a force user is probably the closest thing to it._

We all begin to approach Aang, and I speak up. "So this air ball game, how do you play?" Aang immediately perks up at this, and explains to me how the game works.

After he explains it to me I find myself standing upon one of the many wooden posts, while Aang holds a ball, spinning it with airbending. He then serves the ball sending it bouncing into some of the taller posts. As it nears, I use the force to help track the ball, and when it's about to reach me I use the force to catch the ball, and send it firing back at him.

Even though I've never played this before, now my force enhanced reflexes and senses, help immensely, allowing me to keep pace with the young airbender, as we continue to rally back and forth. Although since, i'm trying to cheer him up I allow him after a while to hit one through the post, giving Aang the score.

Aang laughs happily at his success. "Aang seven, Jon zero." He exclaims. I then look back trying to find where the ball went and see Katara, and Sokka talking over something.

"Aang, there's something you need to see." Katara calls to him.

"Okay." He says, as he runs over.

Katara looks down for a moment, almost like she was second guessing herself.

She then uses, her waterbending to pull down some snow, and having it crash down, possibly to cover something up before he get's there.

"What is it?" He asks.

"Uhh, just a new waterbending move i learned she said quickly to cover up whatever it was.

"Nice one, but enough practicing, we have a whole temple to see." Aang says buying it as he walks off.

I then walk over to where Katara, and Sokka are. "What is it you're hiding from him?"

"The fire nation were here." She replied simply, but quiet enough so Aang can't here. I look at the snow, and use the force to move some of it revealing the helmet, confirming what Katara, had just said.

"You know, you can't protect him forever." Says Sokka, before Katara walks off to follow Aang. Sokka, and I look at eachother for a moment, before we follow them. As soon as we catch up to Katara, Sokka tries to reason with her. "Katara, the fire nation was here, you can't pretend like they weren't."

"I can for Aang's sake. If Aang finds out the Fire nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated." She says in defense of her actions.

"Katara, if you continue to hide this from him he's going to find out on his own, and that will be even more devastating than if we told him. We could at least lessen the blow for him.

Before she can reply Aang's voice calls out. "Hey guys, I want you to meet somebody." He says as he stands next to a wooden statue of what appears to be an older monk.

"Who's that?" Sokka asks bluntly.

"This is Monk Gyatso, the greatest Airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know." This comment causes me to have flashbacks to some of the masters that had taught me as well. A'Sharad Hett, before he had disappeared one year into the war, and Obi-Wan Kenobi after that. They both taught me much though Kenobi, less so since he only had about a year and a half to train me before i was Knighted. I reflect sadly on both of them, not knowing if either one are alive, after the disappearance, or the purges.

"Hey Jon, are you coming?" Sokka asks, startling me slightly. I look up to see him, and Katara, looking at me, Katara with a sad smile on her face. I shake my head, coming out of my stupor, and follow them in.

"Something on your mind?" Katara asks from beside me, as we walk through the temple.

I look over at her, and sigh before replying. "This place, and what Aang has said is just reminding me a lot of my people. The Jedi, and the Masters who taught me." I reply in an even but quiet voice.

"Who were they?" She asked.

"My first master was Jedi named A'Sharad Hett, he had taught me the Jedi way ever since I reached the rank of Padawan at age 13, until I was about 16. He used to live on the planet tatooine where he lived in a tribe of Sand People. His father sent him to the Jedi for formal training. He disappeared when out on a mission about a year into the war. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi replaced him as my master, he was one of the best in the order, on the Jedi council. He was probably third only to Master Yoda, the Grand Master, and Master Mace Windu. He was also the one who taught Anakin Skywalker." I stop and look down, pained by the memory of the man whose name I just spoke.

"They must have been pretty good masters, from your description, and they trained you." Her flattery caused to smile slightly before I look over at her gratefully. "Thank you Katara, hopefully, we can get you and Aang to the north pole eventually so you can find your own masters to teach you." Her smile grew at that, obviously really wanting to get their to.

We eventually reach a large wooden door with some weird looking vent tub things sticking out of it. "Aang, no one could have survived in their for a hundred years."

"It's not impossible, I survived in the iceberg for that long." He replied making a pretty valid point. "Good point" Katara said expressing my thoughts again.

"Katara, who ever is in their might be able to help me understand this Avatar thing."

"And they might have a delicious medley of cured meats." Sokka said again thinking of his stomach.

"Sokka, these are Air Nomads. From what Aang has said, and what he's eaten, I don't think their going to have any meat on them." Though this only earned me a glare from Sokka who was still hungry.

"So Aang, do you happen to know how this door works. I don't believe i've seen anything like it before."

"Yeah, just watch me." He replied as he got into an airbending stance, and blew air into the two tubes, of the odd contraption. This caused the now revealed door latch to unlock, and the door to open. Allowing us inside, to a room full of statues. As we walk in, I begin to feel a very large number of powerful presences within the room, that is filled with nothing but statues of various people going all of the way up to the top of the room, which is quite a ways up.

"Statues? That's it? Where's the meat?" Sokka asked, apparently not taking what I said to heart.

"Who are all of these people?"

"I'm not sure, but I feel like I know them somehow?"

"Could they be your past lives?" I ask.

"What would make you say that?" Sokka asked.

"When we entered the room, I could sense quite a few presences were in here, but the only thing in here is statues. Also the presences, seem to carry the same energy I sense within you Aang."

"You might be right, look, all of these statues are different benders, and they seem to be arranged in the Avatar cycle." Katara, replied agreeing with me.

"Wow, there are so many." Aang said, in awe of the sheer amount of statues in the room, signifying the amount of past lives.

"Past lives? You two really believe in that stuff?" Sokka asked skeptically.

"It's true Sokka, when the Avatar dies, he is reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle." Katara explained.

"I've never seen any of it myself where I'm from, but from what I sense in the room, that's the only explanation."

"Ok Mr. Omni knowing, if you can sense all of the 'presences'" he says making apostrophes in the air with his fingers, "then what are all of them doing here, and what are they doing." I close my eyes and reach out with my feelings, seeking out the spirits of the past Avatars, in the room. "It seems like all of them are dormant, though they appear to be aware enough to have noticed us. Though they appear to be mostly focusing on Aang the most, which makes sense."

"Wait there watching us?" Sokka asked starting to get nervous, "how much are they watching each of us then."

"There's no need to fear Sokka, they appear to focusing on you the least." I reply, making him slightly less nervous but also bitter because he isn't as important as the others for them to be watching.

"After Aang they appear to be focusing mostly on me."

"Why's that?" Sokka asked.

"I'm an anomaly to them. They have never seen, heard, or felt someone or something like me before. They appear to just be curious about me." I reply calmly.

We all then notice Aang staring blankly at one of the statues. Katara walks over to him and shakes him. "Aang snap out of it."

"Huh."

"Who is that?"

"That's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me."

"You were a fire bender?" Sokka ask while walking over to us. "No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."

"There's no writing, how do you know his name." Katara asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, I just know it somehow." He replied, causing Sokka to become frustrated, with his cryptic answer.

"You just couldn't get any weirder."

We then hear the padding of feet walking up behind us, causing us all to duck into cover, as a shadow appears in the doorway. I reach out to feel who it is but I don't sense any people over their. Just some type of small mammal like creature. "You guys I don't sense anyone over there, it's just an Animal."

Everyone seemed to calm down at my words, and we come out of cover to find some type of small animal with wings under the arms, and very large ears sticking out of it's head.

"Lemur!" "Dinner." Aang, and Sokka say at the same time as they both run off racing each other to get the small animal who runs off, away from the two.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose at the rash and immature behavior. "I guess I should have seen that one coming." I say in annoyance. "I hope they don't get into to much trouble this time."

"We should just leave them to it," Katara replies "I'm sure they will be fine".

"I'm sure you're right, I'm gonna go meditate," I say pointing to the center of the room. "You come get me if anything happens. Okay?"

"Sure thing Jon." She then turns to start exploring the room a bit more, as I sit in the center of the room where I can feel the most in the center of the spiritual energy that seems to radiate of this place.

I reach out into the force, and am able to find peace.

After a few minutes of as much as I could get, I felt a strange disturbance. At the same time I heard a gasp come from Katara. I came out of meditation, and looked to see what was wrong. Katara had been looking at one of the statues, and it's eyes had started glowing. Just like all of the others in the room.

"Aang." Katara exclaims, concern even more prevalent in her voice. "Come on we should hurry." I say as we run out to find Aang.

When we get outside the wind has become incredibly fierce, and there is wind from what looks like was a small building, but has been destroyed by the now hurricane force winds. I put out my arm to protect myself from the winds, and use the force to slow the winds around us to try and keep us from being blown away. We soon approach some cover were Sokka is, who is not having as much luck with the wind. As soon as we get their though the wind around Sokka has calmed down as well due to the small amount of protection I am able to provide.

"What happened?" Katara asked.

"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso."

"As I feared." I say. "Now that he knows he must have lost control of his emotions, and they threw him into the Avatar state that he went into when he was fighting those firebenders." I explain shortly.

"I'm going to try and calm him down." Katara yells as she goes to try and calm him down. But as soon as she leaves the wind around her picks up.

"Well do it." Sokka yells back, "Before he blows us off the mountain."

Aang is now lifting up off the ground causing the winds to become stronger causing the bubble that seemed to have formed over me to collapse, causing me and Sokka to hang on for dear life.

"Aang, I know you're upset, and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom, Sokka to, and Jonathan. Monk Gyatso, and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka, Jon, and I. Where your family now."

As Katara speaks, Aang starts to lower back down to the ground, the wind calming back down, and his glow dissipating. "We aren't going to let anything happen to you Aang." Sokka said. As we came behind him, and Katara grabs his hand. His glow completely goes away, and he collapses into Katara's arms.

"I'm sorry." He says meekly.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault."

"But you were right, and if firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones to. I really am the last airbender." Katara hugs Aang, as Sokka and I come up from behind, and put our hands on his shoulders, giving him our own support.


	5. The Warriors of Kyoshi

**Jonathan**

We had been traveling for a few days now. Aang was taking us somewhere, all though were was a good question. We'd been bouncing around all over the southern hemisphere, which I suppose would keep the Fire Nation off of our backs, but it also made going where ever we were going take way longer then it probably should have.

"You have no idea where you're going do you?" Sokka asked as he inspected the map that we had on us.

"Well, I know it's near water." Sokka, and I deadpanned at this, as there was nothing but water as far as the eye could see.

"I guess we're getting close then." Sokka remarked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

While we flew, my mind wandered, and I began to wonder about what my destiny could be here. I knew that I was in for the long hall, here. I was going to help these people, there was no doubt about that, but then what. What happens after this war is over. From what Qui-Gon said, it sounded like I was here to stay, but how would I master the skills I still need to learn. It's not like there were any Jedi masters here I could go to for guidance. No one on this world had ever even heard of the force before.

 _Perhaps Qui-Gon himself could assist me._ It would make sense if that were the case, he had already come to me once before to help start me on my journey, I don't see why he couldn't further my training. And with the kind of powers the people here had, I was going to need it.

While I was thinking Katara was finishing repairing a hole in the crotch of Sokka's pants.

"Momo, marbles please." Aang asked the new addition to our little family. Aang had apparently adopted the flying lemur we found in the temple as a pet, and had named it Momo. He also apparently had enough time to train it, so that it would follow simple commands, which is impressive in and of itself.

"Katara, check out this airbending trick I learned." Aang was again trying to find ways to impress the young Water Tribe girl. It had become increasingly obvious to me that Aang was smitten with the girl.

"That's great Aang." She replied, distracted, not even looking towards Aang.

"You didn't even look." Aang pointed out disappointed.

"That's great." She said again now looking up, and fake enthusiasm in her voice.

"But i'm not doing it now."

It had also become obvious that Katara was completely oblivious to the young boy's feelings towards her. She simply saw him as a child still, and that did not seem to peak her interests, to the continued disappointment of Aang.

"Stop bugging her airhead, you need to give girls space when they do their sowing." Said to the annoyance of Katara, and slightly of me as well. Though I hid it better. Sokka appeared to have a slightly sexist attitude towards, the opposite gender, even to Katara sometimes, though this seemed to be a product of the culture, he and many boys seemed to grow up in around here. He appeared to believe that girls should be separated to the roles of a housewife, while Males did all of the dirty work. He appeared to underestimate the things that women could accomplish. While this has not hurt him before, someday that sort of attitude is going to bite him in the rear. I can only hope that it will not cost him his life.

"What does me being a girl, have to do with sewing?" She asked in annoyance.

"Simple, girls are better at fixing pants then guys, and guys are better at fighting and hunting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things." Sokka replied, only increasing his sisters ire. _Uh oh._ I thought.

"All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did!" Katara sarcastically retorted throwing the only half finish pants back into Sokka's face.

"Wait, I was just kidding, I can't wear these, Katara please." Sokka panicked sticking an arm through the hole for emphasis. I couldn't hold it back anymore. I broke out laughing, at the situation Sokka now found himself in, earning a slight smile Katara, and a look of annoyance from Sokka. "Oh what, you laughing because I don't have any pants to wear now? Hmm."

"No, i'm laughing because you got exactly what you deserve, for the attitude you have been presenting for a while now."

"Relax Sokka, where we're going you won't need pants." Aang said from on Appa's head.

About an hour later, we landed on a small island just off of the southern tip of the earth kingdom. "We just made a pit stop yesterday, shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?" Sokka asked.

"On this I agree with Sokka. We can't keep stopping if we want to make to the North Pole. At this rate we won't even make it there by next spring." I said in agreement.

"But Appa's tired already, aren't ya boy?" Aang asked his bison who did not look in the slightest tired. When he got no response he started elbowing him in the leg. "I said aren't you boy?" Aang asked again eliciting a very fake looking yawn.

"Yea, that was real convincing." Sokka replied sarcastically. "Still, tough to argue with a ten ton magical monster." Sokka relented as Aang ran off to the water, as we were still on the beach.

"Look!" He exclaimed as a giant fish of some sort jumped out of the water. He then started to stip to his underwear. "That's why we're here, Elephant koi. And i'm gonna ride it. Katara you gotta watch me." He said before running out into the water. As soon as he got in, he jumped up yelling "COLD!" Causing Sokka and Katara looking between each other Sokka waving his finger around his ear indicating he thought Aang was crazy. I simply pinched my nose, and said "I have a bad feeling about this."

Aang swam out into the deeper water than grabbed hold of one of the koi fish, as it began jumping out of the water, and Aang held on for dear life yelling out in excitement. This seemed to impress Katara, but it did not however impress me or Sokka. It more concerned me than anything.

"He's doing pretty good out there." Katara said thoroughly impressed with his antics. "Are you kidding the fish is doing all of the work." Sokka replied.

We then heard something from behind us and Katara ran over to Appa to pull him away from whatever he was getting into.

Suddenly the a massive shadow appeared under the surface of the water, chasing one of the three koi fish. "There's something in the water!" Sokka shouted, as I felt a pang of danger in the force. Katara, ran back over as one of the Koi fish got sucked back down into the water by what ever was down there.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Aang's in trouble." We both replied, before we began shouting for him to get out of the water.

Suddenly the fish Aang was riding on was sucked down, sending the boy flying off. As he recovered a massive fin sprung out of the water directly behind him. When he turned, he saw it screamed, and starting running on top off the water as fast as his legs, and airbending would carry him. He ran so fast in fact that accidentally tackled Sokka as he got back to land.

Me and Katara ran back to check on Sokka who was sitting upright still against a tree, as Aang redressed himself. "What was that thing?" Katara wondered, as I began to feel warnings through the force sending my senses up to high.

"I don't know." Aang replied.

"Well let's not stick around to find out. Time to hit the road." Sokka said as I looked up to see several warriors in a green getup and some type of face paint on, ready to pounce on us from the trees. Before I could say anything they leaped down upon us, catching the others by surprise.

They were able to get all of the others without much struggle, but luckily for me, and unluckily for them, I was prepared to fend off their ambush. As the first warrior approached, I spun around stunning them with with a quick jab, then throwing them over my shoulder into the next warrior on my left. The other warriors quickly surrounded me. I noticed that all of the warriors currently around me were female, and the only weapons they held were some time of fans. The weapons themselves didn't look all too dangerous, but that didn't mean in the proper hands they couldn't be.

As I got into a ready stance, and they prepared to attack, I decided to try make my former master proud, and do a little negotiating. And if that didn't work, I would just resort to what he is other former pupil called, 'aggressive negotiations'.

"Who are you, and why have you attacked us?" I asked.

"We are the warriors, of Kyoshi." One answered, who appeared to be the leader. "And we attacked you because you're trespassing on our Island."

"Kyoshi?" Aang asked from the ground where they had him hog tied. "I know Kyoshi."

"How, Kyoshi was born four hundred years ago. How you could you possible know her?" She asked.

"I know her because I'm the Avatar."

"That's impossible, the Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."

"That's me." He replied simply.

"And he can prove it." He added. "Let him free and he can show you airbending."

The leader thought about it for a moment. "Fine, cut him loose, but if he tries anything, the Unagi will eat well tonight." She threatened.

As the warriors cut his bindings, Aang used airbending to leap 15 feet into the air. Impressing all of the warriors, who promptly invited us back to their village, and gave us shelter, and food.

About a day later, we all sat in one of the rooms of the apartment they had allowed for us to stay in. I sat looking out the window, as the townspeople went around revamping the place, even the old statue, of who I assumed was Avatar Kyoshi. As I do this Aang, and Katara ate the food they provided, and Sokka sat pouting in the corner, still put off that he had been beaten by a bunch of girls.

"All Right dessert for breakfast." Aang said happily. "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar. Katara you've gotta try these." Aang handed her a piece of whatever pastry he had been eating."

"Well, maybe just a bite." replied Katara.

"Sokka, what's your problem eat." Aang said looking over at him.

"Not hungry." He replied dejectedly.

"But you're always hungry."

"He's just upset that a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday." Katara jabbed at him.

"They snuck up on me." He replied quickly trying to defend his already injured pride.

"Right. And then they kicked your butt."

"Sneak attacks don't count." Sokka replied as he got up and walked off, mumbling angrily under his breath.

"I'd better follow him. Make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble." I said as I followed him out. I quickly, and stealthily sneak out of the house making sure that no one saw me as I follow Sokka from the rooftops. As I suspected he was heading to the dojo were the Kyoshi warriors were training. _Probably going to try and fix his injured pride. I'd help him out but it's probably give him a better lesson if I stay out of it. Plus, it'll probably be more enjoyable anyone. And he most likely wouldn't even listen to me even if I did try._ I think to myself.

I quickly found a place just out of sight where I could clearly see and hear what is going on inside. _This should be good._

Sokka peaked through the doorway to see them practicing their fighting in unison. He had a smug smile on his face as a walked through the door. "Sorry ladies, didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson. I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout." He said as he stretched, overconfidence reeking from his every movement. The warriors obviously took notice of this, but apparently the leader, now I know her name is Suki, decided to play it off.

"Well you're in the right place." She said as she watched him.

"Sorry about yesterday, I didn't know you were friends with the Avatar."

"It's alright, I mean normally i'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls i'll make an exception."

"I should hope so. A big strong man like you. We wouldn't stand a chance." Her sarcasm making me have to hold back a laugh.

"True, but don't feel bad. After all i'm the best warrior in my village."

 _More like only warrior._ I think to myself.

"Wow, best warrior huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration." This statement caused Sokka to lose a bit of his bravado. He wasn't expecting this, and deep down, he probably knew what was going to happen. But his pride wouldn't let him back down.

"Oh, well I mean I…."

"Come on girls. Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?" Suki said, putting him in a spot where he really only had one option. The other girls laughed a little, and nodded in agreement. They to knew what was going to happen.

"We'll if that's what you want, i'll be happy to." He replies, his overconfidence returning.

"Ok, you stand over there. Now this may be tough." He says backing up. "But try to block me." He says as he get's into an awkward ready position.

He attempts to throw a punch with the only result being Sokka getting blocked easily by Suki, causing him to back up holding his shoulder.

"Good….Of course I was going easy one you."

"Of course."

Sokka begins to get angry, due to his pride taking another pummeling. "Let's see if you can handle this!" He yells trying to kick her foolishly, resulting in her sweeping his leg out from under him, causing him to lose his footing, as she pushes him back to where he began.

Now, he's really upset. "That does it." He exclaims as he attempts to rush her. He attempts to punch her again, only now Suki has had enough, as she grabs his arm and spins him a couple times, before she takes his belt, and ties his wrist to his ankle, causing him to lost balance and face plant back on the ground.

"Anything else you want to teach us?" She asks as she and the others start laughing at the now thoroughly embarrassed, Sokka.

I can't hold it back any more, as I begin laughing. I'm almost in tears, as I come out of hiding and walk through the door, allowing everyone to see me. Sokka turns red from embarrassment as he realise I probably saw the whole thing. "I'm sorry." I say as I finally recover. "But, you had that coming Sokka. And, oh man, was that amusing to watch."

Suki and the other girls are looking to me now. "Are you here to challenge us to?" She asks.

"Nah, I was just following this guy. Make sure he didn't do anything to stupid. I would have intervened, but I figured if he got his butt kicked, than he probably needed to be taught a lesson. Plus, I figured this would be more amusing."

She's now eyeing me curiously. "Strange, most men who are outsiders underestimate us because we're girls, and they think we can't handle ourselves because of that. But you're different. You have respect."

"Well." I respond, shrugging my shoulders. "Where I come from there are plenty of women who can handle themselves in a fight. Some of them were friends, others were masters who helped to teach me in various ways." I say crossing my arms.

"Hmm. That sounds like an interesting place. Where do you hail from exactly?" She asks genuine curiosity in her tone.

"That's sort of a long story, one you may or may not believe. Though just know that it is a very long way from here." Suspicion crept onto her features, as well as the other warriors, for a brief moment before it passed. "Well your friends, with the Avatar, so I suppose it doesn't matter to much were your from. Though I would still like to know." She suddenly got a mischievous glint in her eye. "How about a friendly wager?"

"Oh? And what does this wager entail?"

"Just a little sparring match. You seem a competent fighter, at least more so than Mr. Macho over here." She said referring to Sokka who was struggling to escape from his own belt that he was now tied up with. "If I win, you can tell us more about yourself."

"And if I win?"

"Then I won't pry any further. You won't be forced to tell me your secret, and i'll leave you alone about it."

This seemed reasonable enough. She didn't really have anything I wanted anyway, and it was only a friendly contest, what could go wrong. "All right you have a deal." I say

The other girls, plus Sokka who has finally freed himself, move out of the way so that me and Suki have plenty of room to spar in. I take off my cloak, and leave it at the doorway, making sure to keep my lightsaber hidden within an inner pocket. This leaves my formal Jedi robe underneath. Suki unsheathes her fans as we circle each other in the center of the room. I notice out of the corner of my eye that Aang, and a group of girls, who I assume were the ones waiting outside the apartment for Aang, are watching from the doorway. They probably caught wind of what was going down. Some how.

Since I don't know much about a Kyoshi warriors fighting style, I decide to play conservative, getting into a defensive stance, and waiting for her to make the first move. We eye each other for a couple seconds before Suki makes the first move.

She makes a faint to my right, but then attacks at my left. She attempts to jab with her right fan, but then attempts a leg sweep. Her attacks are surprisingly quick and powerful, but I manage, to block or evade each one. By the end of the first two minutes I have still not thrown a single blow at her, and she as continued her offensive onslaught, but to no avail, though she is able to keep it up, with a surprising level of endurance.

Now, I decide it's time to turn things up a notch. I begin a heavy barrage of non-force empowered blows. Her defence holds for a minute, which is more than most can say when facing me, but eventually, I find a weakness in her defense, and exploit it. I knock her arms aside, with enough force to cause her to release her fans, which had become a liability on defense. I hit my hands against the sides of her head, though only hard enough to stun her, I then perform a leg sweep knocking her off her feet. As she lands I pin her to the ground.

Everyone is staring wide eyed. The Kyoshi warriors, are shocked that their leader was bested by an outsider. While Sokka is happy, but put off that I could do what he could not. But Aang and the girls cheer happily at the outcome. Though the girls more so just because of Aang.

I remove myself from her, and then reach out a hand to help her up. She hesitates, but then takes it. "You are a good warrior Suki." I say. "You have mastery over your craft, and you have turned an unorthodox weapon into a deadly force. Although you lack experience, you have skill. You have a strong offense, although your weapons can sometimes be a liability on defense. Still you provide adequate challenge."

"I must admit most in our group do not have much experience fighting outsiders. How is it that you became so skilled in hand to hand? We've trained for years."

"When you have fought in a war for as long as I have, you learn that training can only get you so far. When you are out on the field of battle not every scenario you face is something you will have trained for. You must learn to adapt to foreign scenarios."

"I am honored to have had the pleasure of this enlightening experience." Suki says as she bows to me. "If I may ask, would you, while you are staying here, help us to improve our skill?"

This surprises me. "You would ask an outsider for fighting advice?"

"Normally we wouldn't, but you are very skilled, and knowledgeable in the art of war. It would be an honor to learn from you." She replies as the rest of the girls bow to me.

I smile slightly and bow back to them. "If that is what you desire, then I will gladly help to instruct you in what I know."

A week goes by as we stay on the island. Each morning I come by their dojo to give small instruction in hand to hand combat, trying to help them perfect their technique, and perhaps hybridize to other styles as well. On the day after the spar, I even see Sokka come by, as he sucks his pride, and apologizes, and asks the girls to train him, which ends up meaning he get's to wear the dress, and make up of the Kyoshi warriors.

And it also means, that I end up instructing him as well. By the end of the week, with the combined efforts, of both me, and Suki we are able to get him to be at least competent in his martial skill, so he at least stands a chance during battle during the final day of the week.

I had Sokka dueling Suki, both of them had improved greatly, even after just a week, Suki had managed to nearly best me during at least two of our duels, before I resorted to more drastic measures, which says a lot for her skill, even if I wasn't using the force. Sokka while still not great was atleast able to defend himself, and provide a steady offense.

Suki swung her right fan at Sokk, which Sokka blocked with ease. "Not bad." She complemented as they both smile proudly at one another. They look to me, and I give them both a nodd of approval and a small smile. It had also become apparent that it was not just their fighting skills that had improved. In just a short week Sokka, and Suki had formed a strong bond of friendship, that surprised even me.

As they were about to continue dueling, the leader of the village ran into the doorway. "Firebenders have landed on our shores." He exclaimed. "Girls, come quickly."

"Hey, I'm not ah…" Sokka began as I interrupted

"Let it go Sokka."

"Uhhh, whatever."

As we ran towards the town, everyone got into positions hiding behind, and on top of the buildings. As we hid, I could sense the presences of the fire benders approaching. One of them was all too familiar. The young man I had encountered on the ship, when we had rescued Aang.

I turn to Suki, who is to my right. "Don't attack until I make my move."

She nodded in confirmation.

"Come out Avatar." I heard Zuko yell. "You can't hide from me forever."

I jumped on top of the roof, and inspected the opposition. Their was four of them including the boy. They were all on top of strange mounts, that I had never seen before, yet were strangely familiar. "Rhinoceros" came to mind. Most likely from the visions I received when I got here.

As he ordered the other three to search the village, I decided to make my move. I got close, and I leapt onto the front of his mount shocking him, just as the other warriors attacked. "You." he said quietly, yet angrily. But just as we were both about to make our move, the boys mount bucked in annoyance of my presence, causing both of us to fall off, though I gracefully landed on my feet, while Zuko landed on his side.

We both stared at each other for a moment. Neither making a move, until he did the unthinkable. He spoke. "Who are you?" He snarled. "And how do you know so much about me?"

 **Zuko**

The man stared for a moment before he answered my questions. "I am Jonathan Rahhn, and I am a Jedi, though you probably don't know what that means. And what I know about you comes from my ability to read a person's emotions. I could sense your anger, and your hate, but also despair. You have the stance of one who is, or at least thinks they are important. But you also look like a person, who has suffered much. And for that I am sorry."

Much of what he said didn't make a lot of sense. _Jedi? Sense my thoughts? Even his name sounds fake. He must be lying to me. There's no other explanation for this. But if he was an Air Nomad, how is it he is able to now as much as he does.?_ For the life of me, I could not make sense of what the man 'Jonathan Rahhn' had told me. "Liar!" I shouted. "How dare you talk to me as if you know anything. You filthy peasant." As I said this, I began to throw fireballs at the man, only for him to simply evade them at speeds I had never thought possible for a human.

"I can sense much confusion in you. I know what I have said may not make much sense to you, but just know that what I tell you is the truth. I can only hope in time you believe me, and take to heart the advice I have given you." The man said, only making me more angry. _None of what he's saying makes any sense._

"Shut up!" I shouted shooting more fire. But the man kept evading my attacks. Then without warning he withdrew some weird metal cylinder, the likes of which I had never seen before. Suddenly with a 'snap-hiss' a beam of deep blue light shot out of the cylinder. It was about a meter in length, and the man held it like some type of sword. _What in the world is that._

While I was distracted, the man lifted up his hand, and released a force that sent me flying back into a wall behind me. Before I could react the man was already upon me. He stood over me, the blade of his strange weapon pointed at my neck. I thought it was the end, so I closed my eyes, prepared to meet my fate. Then another sound by the weapon was made, and the low humming that it was making disappeared.

"I don't wish to kill you." He said. "There is still good left in you. Don't lose that. Don't let whatever has happened to you destroy the good man you can still be." The man's words were sad, and sympathetic, but they only enraged me further. _He knows to much about me to be a simple peasant like the rest. Who is he._ \

Before I could do any more, the man turned and left, Leaving me to my thoughts.

 **Jonathan**

After my conversation with the boy, I ran off in search of Sokka so we could get out of there. As I turned a corner and found Sokka kneeled down with Suki behind some houses. Suki quickly kisses Soka, then murmured something to him and runs off. I shake my head clearing my mind before I run up to Sokka grabbing his shoulder, and helping him up.

"Come on Sokka, we can't do anything more for these people. We have to get out of here, they will chase us when we leave, as they are only after the Avatar."

Sokka nods to me before we take off in search of Appa, Aang, and Katara. We find them behind another pair of houses as we run up to them, and quickly climb up on top of Appa, before he takes off.

Aang looks down dejectedly at the town. Most likely blaming himself for the destruction just because he had been there.

"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing." Katara said trying to comfort a distraught Aang. "They would have destroyed the whole place if we stayed. There gonna be ok Aang."

Aang suddenly get's a very determined look on his face, and I can already tell what he plans on doing. He jumps off of Appa, heading straight for the water below. "What are you doing?" Katara yells in surprise, as I hold her back. "He's doing what he feels is right." I supply.

Aang hits the water, and nothing moves for a little while. Then the Unagi comes out of the water with Aang riding it holding on to it's face tails. He aims at the town, and causes the giant serpent to spray the town dousing the fires.

He then leaps back up as Appa comes back around to catch Aang.

"I know, I know, that was stupid and dangerous." Aang says already defending himself.

"Yes it was." Katara says before she hugs Aang, much to the enjoyment of Aang. As we fly off into the sunset.


	6. The King of Omashu

**Jonathan**

The next few days went mostly uneventful. We didn't run into any more firebenders, or any other trouble for that matter.

Qui-Gon had told me of an ability know as Tutaminis, which was an ability I had heard of before, but not one I had been to a large extent taught. It was difficult to self teach esspecially with little to practice with. Essentially the ability allows the user to absorb or redirect energy, such as fire, blaster shots, lightning, and in some cases even allowing one to catch a lightsaber. Though that last feat was rare.

Though I didn't have have anyone to shoot any energy projectiles at me. The most I could do was have Aang shoot blasts of air at me, which I would then deflect.

At the same time I continued to train Sokka, to help him improve his fighting. He was definitely now at a level where he could adequately defend himself, but he still had a ways to go in order to be in contention with some of the better fighters out there.

After we had left Kyoshi Island, Aang had decided to take us to a place he had been to back before he had been frozen in Ice. "The Earth Kingdom City, of Omashu." Aang proclaimed as we came to the top of a hill allowing us to finally get an unimpeded view of the city. It was large for a city on this planet. It had a wall surrounding it and was made completely of stone, which appeared to be a theme in this world, that everything be made of the material that can be bended by the citizens. Not that this was a bad thing, it was in fact a very good strategy, allowing for easy repair, of any damages, by simply bending.

"I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi." Aang continued.

"Wow." Said Katara. "We don't have cities like this in the south pole."

"They have buildings here that don't melt." Sokka added.

"It is indeed an impressive city." I included simply.

"Well let's go slow pokes. The real fun's inside the city." Aang said as he used airbending to jump up into the air.

"Wait Aang." Katara called. "It could be dangerous if people find out that you're the Avatar."

"You need a disguise." Sokka added.

"So what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache." After a few minutes of thought Aang indeed did grow a mustache. Or rather we supplied him with one made of Appa's fur, as well as a wig to cover up the arrow tatoo on his head, and make him look like an old man.

Though he would still look out of place due to his air nomad clothing, and any guard who is competent and paying attention should be able to spot him. Unfortunately we didn't have much else. I was already wearing my cloak to cover up my also out of the ordinary clothing, and we had nothing else to hide him in. So we would just have to hope for incompetent guards.

"Ahh, this is so itchy." Aang whined. "How do you live in this stuff?" He asked Appa.

"Great, now you look just like my grandfather." Sokka said. _I highly doubt that, with Aang's much lighter complected skin, and odd clothes. But whatever floats your speeder, I suppose._

"Technically Aang is one hundred and twelve years old." Katara added.

"Now let's get to skippen young whipper snappers. The big city awaits." Aang said in the worst old man impression I have ever heard in my life, after picking up his staff, and going into a hunched over posture. Katara, and Sokka gave each other unsure looks, while I pinched the bridge of my nose. _We'll be lucky if we even get past the front gate._ I thought to myself.

I threw up my hood, to give myself a more intimidating, and mysterious appearance, and we then began our long walk over the very narrow path up to the city gates. As we got close to the gate Aang commented. "You guys are going to love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world."

Immediately after Aang says this we hear a voice from one of the guards ahead, who is guarding the front gate. "Rotten cabbages! What kinda slum do you think this is?" Apparently an old man with a cart of cabbages was trying to get into the city to sell his produce, and was being blocked. He then crushed the cabbage in his hand and earthbend the cart off the edge into the abyss beneath us. _Pretty harsh punishment if you ask me._ "No! My cabbages." The old man exclaimed.

We all gave Aang a nervous look after what he had said earlier had just been proven false. "Just keep smiling." He said which helped in no way at all as we walked up to the gate. I can feel the guards strength in the force. For all of his bravado, he does not appear to be that powerful of an earth bender. Of course I don't have much to go on for earth benders, as the only benders i've met are water, air, and fire benders. But compared to them this one is only average in strength.

As we approached the guard, then earthbend a large rock over Aang's head. "State your business!" He commanded. Aang, in old man mode, ran up to the guard, and started yelling at him with his awful old man voice that no one should buy, to the point where the Guard dropped the bolder back on the ground.

"My Business, is my business young man, and none of yours. I got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside." Aang yelled.

"Settle down old timer." The guard said now trying to placate the 'old man'. "Just tell me who you are."

"Names Bonzu Pippenpadlopsicoplolis the third. And these are my Grandkids, and our escort." I nodded my head slightly, as Katara went up to the guard playing her part.

"Hi June Pippenpadlopsicoplolis. Nice to meet you." She said without even stuttering once. _Impressive. Most Impressive._

The guard scratched his chin looking between us. "You seem like a responsible young lady. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu." He said letting us pass. We thought we were scott free when he suddenly grabbed Sokka's shoulder. "Wait a minute." Sokka looked nervous, Katara, and Aang looked back slightly frightened, and I prepared to defend Sokka. "Your a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag." We all relaxed a little.

"Good idea." Aang pronounced as he through his bag to Sokka. I hid a slight smirk at that.

The guards, then opened the gates, which were separated into three different sections. As we entered Katara, Sokka, and Aang all gaped at the majesty of the great city, while I quietly studied the architecture of the place. The city was organized into levels, that went from the bottom where we were, to the top were the palace appeared to be. Going up there appeared to be some type of slides going everywhere with carts of stone going down carrying various items.

"This is the Omashu delivery system." Aang explained pointing out the slides. "Miles and miles, of tubes, and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity bring them down." It was a truly ingenious way for sending and receiving male with in the city. They truly did take full advantage of bending here.

"Great so they get their mail on time." Sokka said clearly not as impressed.

"They do get their mail on time. But my friend Bumi found a better use for these Chutes." Aang said with a mischievous smile. This put me slightly on edge. "Oh I've got a bad feeling about this." I mutter to myself.

A few minutes later, we find ourselves at the top of one of the chutes in one of the stone carts, as apparently Aang's meaning of 'A better use for the chutes' means he's going to have us go down one like a big super slide. "One ride, then were off to the north pole. Airbenders honor." Aang told us from the front.

"Aang, are you sure this is such a good idea?" I ask from the back of the cart that we've somehow squeezed ourselves into.

"Yeah, this sounded like fun at first. But now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second THOUGHTS!" Katara screamed as we started down the chute. Aang's laughing all the way, while Sokka, Katara are scared out of their minds. I would be just fine if it wasn't for the fact that I was being crushed at the back. Having flown starfighters in battle before was way more terrifying than this.

A second chute joins up with ours which had a large rack of spears on it, that is now coming just a little too close to skewering me in the back, for comfort. To escape the spears Aang rocks the cart out of the slide sending us falling down to the city below. We land on a roof, and then continue to slide down along more rooftops. After we fall off the rooftops we bounce into the middle of what appears to be a military training session, startling the soldiers, as we slide by, into what appears to be a loading section for more carts.

We somehow bounce back into another slide, as we continue our descent. "Aang do something." Katara frightenedly screams from the back. "Use your Airbending." This was not the right thing to say.

"Yeah, good idea. That'll make us go even faster." He says as he propels us forward, with airbending. After about another minute of chaos, and destruction of public property, we finally are stopped. Landing in the middle a cart of cabbages, that appears to owned by the same guy from outside. "My cabbages!" He exclaims. "You're gonna pay for this."

I sit up from where I fell and look to see guards coming to arrest us, and that Aang's disguise had been utterly destroyed.

I face palm, and mutter out. "I knew this was a terrible idea."

As the guards arrest us I manage to conceal my lightsaber with a combination of my cloak, and some mind manipulation on the guards. The guards eventually lead us to the throne of the king, who appears to be an old man with some outlandish clothing, and crazy looking eyes. He appeared to be old and frail. But the force was telling me otherwise. The energy was that like the guard from outside, except one that is far more powerful, and far wiser, if not slightly crazy, in the same right.

He looked over us. Though his gaze stopped mostly on Aang, and myself. I can understand Aang, with his airbending tattoos, and clothing. The only difference for me is my clothing, what does he see in me that would cause his gaze to linger there? The guards then push us to our knees before the king.

"Your majesty, these Juveniles, and this one adult, were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses, and malicious destruction of cabbages." Explained one of the guards.

At this the cabbage guy, who followed us in, yelled "Off with their heads, one for each head of cabbage." I admit I feel bad for the guy, losing two carts of cabbages in one day, but killing us is just harsh. Not to mention their aren't enough of us to do that.

"Silence, only the king, can pass down judgment." The guard commanded. "What is your judgment sire?" He asked looking back to the king.

The king looked at us intently, thinking of what to with us. His gaze going back over us, though mostly Aang this time, with glances back over the rest of us.

"Throw them….A feast." The king said with a smile.

This 'punishment' confused just about everyone in the room. After saying this I read the king again to see exactly how crazy this guy was. While I found some crazy, his mind was more filled with both knowing, and curiosity. Most likely the curiosity was what was being directed at me, but did he know something about Aang?

After about half an hour, we were lead into sometime of banquet hall with a long table. We sat at one end of the table, with Aang sitting in the very middle. Me and Sokka sat on Aang's left, while Katara on Aang's right. There was a very large amount of food laid out on the table.

The king stood behind us, with his long arms stretched out to rest on Katara, and Sokka's chair's headrests. "Hehe, the people in my city have gotten fat from to many feasts. So I hope you like your chicken with no skin." The king said mostly to Aang.

"Thanks, but I don't eat meat." Aang replied. The king then turned to Sokka.

"How about you? I bet you like meat." He said stuffing a chicken wing into Sokka's mouth. Unsurprisingly Sokka enjoyed the meat.

"Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?" Katara asked in a whisper so only we could hear.

As the king sat down on the opposite side of the table, the king asked "So tell me young bald one. Where are you from?"

"I'm from Kangaroo island." He responded, making me cringe inwardly.

"Oh, Kangaroo island eh? I hear that place is really hopping." This terrible joke made me have to hide a cringe again. After a few seconds of awkward silence Sokka for some reason started laughing at this, even though it was not funny at all, causing us all to give him a strange look.

Realizing no one was laughing, and we were looking at him strange, he turned and defended himself, "What, it was really funny." He said in a low voice.

The king, looking bored yawned, stretching his arms out with some almost not noticeable chicken wings in his hand. "All of these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to hit the hay." All of a sudden he threw two drumsticks, one at Aang, and one at myself. Aang accidentally used his airbending, catching his chicken in a ball of air, while I used my Jedi reflexes to grab mine out of the air, with two fingers.

The guards, and attendants gasped at what Aang had done. "There's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender. The Avatar. Along with a friend with very good reflexes."

Aang quickly dropped his chicken back onto his plate, with a nervous look on his face, about getting caught. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pippenpadlopsicoplolis?" He asked giving a smirk. I continued to study him. What was his game here. Other than his emotions, I couldn't get much from him, again the skill of mind reading not one of my greater skills especially against someone so clearly intelligent, and possibly deranged as this guy.

Aang stood with his arms outstretched. "Ok, you caught me. I'm the Avatar." Aang said giving up the now pointless charade. "Doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out." He said as he looked under the table. "No firebenders here. So good work everybody." He grabbed Sokka, and Katara as we all started to back out of the room, even though I knew it wouldn't be that easy. "Love each other, respect all life, and don't run with your spears, we'll see you next time."

Before we could leave the guards lowered their spears into an x blocking our path out.

"You can't keep us here. Let us leave!" Katara said.

"Lettuce leaf?" The king asked in response, picking up a leaf of lettuce, and eating it, proving more how crazy how he probably is. I had no idea who this guy was. But I had a slight suspicion this guy somehow knew Aang. Although that didn't really help with figuring out who he was, it did give me a clue.

"We're in serious trouble." Sokka whispered to us. "This guy is nutz." _Stating the obvious much._

"Tomorrow, the Avatar will face 3 deadly challenges. But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber." The king informed us.

"My liege." An elderly guard said turning to the king. "Do you mean the good chamber, or the bad chamber?"

"The newly refurbished chamber." The king stated in response.

"Wait, which one are we talking about?"

"The one that used to be the bad chamber. Until the recent refurbishment that is. Of course we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them. Uh.. take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad. But leave the older, one with the cloak, with me."

As the guards escorted my friends to where they would be staying I was lead back up to the king, for whatever it was he wanted to see about with me.

"Where is it you hail from boy?" He asked me.

"Kyoshi Island sir." I lied.

"Hmmm, is that so?" He pondered. "Tell me, what is the device on your belt that you are attempting to conceal." I just barely conceal my shock. How is that he knows? Even if my force powers aren't working on him, i've concealed it fairly well. How does he know?

"What device would you be referring to sir?" I ask, trying to play innocent.

"Don't play dumb with me." He lightly reprimands. "I wouldn't have known about it if not for the crystal inside of it. It has come from the ground, and not been refined to metal, and is not a plant, which allows my earthbending to detect it. After that, I just had to look carefully. It's so much easier to find when you already know something is there." He explains.

Defeated, I reveal my lightsaber to him. "This is my weapon, it's known as a lightsaber." I say activating it to show them the blue blade.

The guards tense at the activation of my weapon. One of them yells out "He's a firebender."

The King waves his hand to dismiss the guards. "It is not he who is causing the heat of the blade. I can feel the energy running through the crystal. It is not bending. It is other worldly isn't it?" He asked, not so subtly laying out the truth.

"I suppose you caught me then. Yes you are correct. I am not of this world." The guards gasp in shock, but the king as ever remains calm. "You do not appear surprised by any of this." I say. "Tell me, why is it you almost seem to know of me. And how is it you seem to know Aang?"

"Ah, you're very observative, aren't you young one. Very well I will answer your questions. First I know of you, because you are not the first of your kind to have traveled here. You are only the second, and most likely not the last. A young Jedi named Qui-Gon Jinn visited our world many years ago. While he was here he helped defend Omashu, and many other places from invasion, though only delaying the inevitable for some. Eventually he was forced to leave this world. He was not strong enough to defeat the fire nation, and their was other things that from your world that required his attention. But before he left, he left a part of his spirit behind, so that one day when another came to this world, he could be here to guide them, and help them gain the power they needed to help the avatar, to bring balance to the world."

Once he was done explaining I took a minute to take all of this in. _Qui-Gon had been here? He had been to this world, so many years ago, and left his spirit so that when I was brought here he could guide me? How did he even know about all of this. And how was he sent here? I don't even know how I was sent here._ I knew why for me, but why him? This was all just so confusing. I would have to ask him about it later.

Before, I could think more, he continued. "And now the reason why I know Aang. Well, you'll just have to learn that later. We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, know would we?"

" _Here he is, going back to being crazy."_ I thought to myself.

"Now Guards, take the Jedi, to his friends. I'm sure their wondering about him?" He says with a smirk. "Oh and please don't attempt to escape. I promise none of you will be harmed as long as you just play along." Somehow I kind believed him, when he said this. I don't know why, but I trust this crazy kinds word. Even as they took my lightsaber, I was willing to see what the king was up to. If he really meant us harm, I could just use the force to get us out, even without my lightsaber.

I am then lead to the 'Newly Refurbished chamber that was once bad', where I find my group laying on there own separate beds with another awaiting me. The guard earthbenders the door closed, leaving us alone in the room, with no way out. Our only option would be to wait till morning.

The gang notices my presence and run up to me. "So what did that king want with you?" Katara asked me. "He didn't hurt you did he?

"No Katara i'm fine. Apparently Qui-Gon has been to this world before, and the king knew all about the jedi." I explain.

"So wait, you mean that dead guy you've been talking to actually was here?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, he was somehow brought here just like I was, and he even helped fight the fire nation for a while. But he wasn't strong enough to stop them. So he left a piece of his spirit here to guide a Jedi that would come here later. And that Jedi apparently was me. And that he would help me get the power to help the Avatar bring balance to this world" I explained.

"Wow, that is so cool!" Aang exclaimed.

"Yeah, and it would be so much cooler if we weren't locked up in here." Sokka added dreadfully. "Do you think you could cut us a way out with that laser sword of yours?"

"No, they took it off me before they lead me in here. Our only option is to wait till morning, then see what these 'challenges' are." The others nodded to me. Obviously not liking this, but agreeing it was the only way out. So we all got to our respective beds, and went to sleep.

While I slept, Qui-Gon came to me, which I was happy he did, as I had questions. "Qui-Gon, you were here, on this world, how come you didn't say anything, how did this happen, and why?" I asked immediately.

 _ **"We have both been brought here because it was the will of the force. I was sent to be the pathfinder. To learn some of this worlds secrets, and to be here, for when you would came, so that I could guide you."**_ He answered.

"But what about me? What purpose do I serve."

 _ **"You are here to be the servant of light and balance. You are here because the Force foresaw that this world would need another protector. Someone who the Avatar could rely upon. To help carry the weight of the world upon their shoulders. But you are only the first. In time you will leave a legacy. Others will come after you, with the same gifts that you have been blessed with. You will establish a Jedi order here. They will help to keep the peace, along side the Avatar. And they will help to keep the balance."**_

All of this was just so confusing. "I never asked for any of this. Why is that this world's fate has been thrust upon me? Why have I been thrown into this situation, with no warning, and all of a sudden i'm in a world with special powers, that a month ago I had never even heard of before, and now i'm expected to help fix it's problems?"

 _ **"That is because you were deemed worthy. You of all the Jedi that would remain were the purest of heart, and the strongest of will. Within you laid the strength to complete this task. And now it is up to you. But it is not just you. Your friends, the Avatar, and the two watertribe kids, will be there to help as well as many others. But be warned. You will face many challenges on this journey you now face. People from your past will come to you. Some may help you, while others will attempt to stop you. It will be up to you how you handle what will come to pass. May the force be with you."**_ And with that, Qui-Gon vanished, and I awoke.

The next morning I woke to one of the guards, who had a hand over my mouth so that I would not shout, or yell in surprise when I woke. I looked over to see the same was happening to Sokka, and Katara, and we were being lead out of the room. About an hour later we were standing in front of a wall, with guards on either side of us. Although more were placed directly behind me, who was standing to the left.

On the other side of the wall I could sense Aang, and the King.

Suddenly the wall was removed allowing us to see into the room, and to hear what they were saying. The king was wearing some kind of ugly purple robe thing. " …..So I will give your friends some special souvenirs." The king said, as the guards grabbed our hands, and removed crystals to put on us, mine, and Sokka's blue while, Katara's was green. "Those delightful rings are made of pure Genomite. Also known as creeping crystal." My friends were scared, and I might have been to if I didn't know that the king was most likely someone Aang used to know, and that his intentions were to not hurt us….probably. You could never really tell with crazy guys. Also I could most likely use the force to remove these if I really had to.

As soon as they put the rings on us, they closed down around our fingers, making removing them without being an earthbender, or a force user nearly impossible. "It's crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible fate, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate." As soon as he finished the crystal started to grow just a little.

"Ahh, it's already creeping!" Sokka exclaimed.

Aang looked at us sadly, then back at the king with determination. "I'll do what you want."

We were then lead into a large cavernous room full of stalagmites, stalactites. In the center was a massive waterfall with a ladder in the center, and up above it hanging from a chain was a small key.

"It seems i've lost my lunchbox key, and i'm hungry." The king said. "Oh, there it is! Would you mind fetching it for me?" He asked pointing at the key in the water fall. After a failed attempt to climb the ladder, that almost ended him getting his manhood taken off, and an attempt to dive in head first also almost ending in his getting impaled, he broke off a piece of stalagmite, and threw it using airbending, and got it to hit the key sending it out to hang just above the kings head in the doorway. He finally passed.

"There, enjoy your lunch! I want my friends back now!" Aang yelled out.

"Uh, not yet. I need help with another matter. It seems i've lost my pet flopsy."

He then lead us to a large room with what looked like some sort of habitat in the center, on a lower elevation. In the center was some type of rabbit, which we all assumed was the pet. Aang chased it around only for he himself to get chased by a rather large Animal of some kind, which actually turned out to be Flopsy.

After Aang returned Flopsy, he came to us and asked "Are your guys okay."

"Other the crystal slowly encasing my entire body, doing great." Katara said. But as soon as she said this, a large piece grew on Sokka's right causing him to fall over towards me. Before he could fall causing us both to fall, I managed to catch him with the force, keeping him, and myself upright. "Oh no you don't Sokka, you aren't tipping me and you over." I say.

For the last challenge, we are lead to a large arena.

"Your final test is a duel." Well that's odd. He just gave him three random tests, and then all of a sudden he just gives a duel. What is this?

"And…" He continued. "...as a special treat, you may choose your opponent."

Two mean looking guys stepped forth for Aang to chose from. But I could tell right away that this was a trick question. The king wanted to fight Aang, that much was clear. And from what I could tell, he was not nearly as weak as he made himself out to be. This was just a facade, to make himself look like he couldn't fight, and in this case, it was so Aang would chose him.

"Point and chose." The king said.

"So you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?" Aang asked.

"Choose wisely." The king replied ominously.

"I….choose…..you!" He said pointing at the King, falling for the trick.

He smiled. "Hmmm….wrong choice." He then removed his outer robe, and came out of his slouch, revealing a very muscularly built, and powerful earthbender. This was clearly not what either Aang, or the water tribe siblings were expecting, as they looked terrified, and I sighed inwardly. But the King had something more in store as well. "As another special treat, I will also allow your Jedi friend to assist you in this."

He then looked over at me, and used earthbending to break the crystal around me. He then used earthbending to send Aang flying into the arena, and I jumped in after him to his defense. As I landed next to Aang, and we both turned to face the mad king he jumped up using earthbending, to land in front of us. Aang was terrified, but I had control of any fear, and was in a ready stance, prepared to defend us.

"You thought, I was a frail old man, but i'm the most powerful earthbender, you'll ever see.

"Can we fight the guy with the axe instead?" Aang asked trying to change his mind, but it was too late.

"There are no take-backsies in my kingdom. You might need these." As he said this, two guards walked forth back on the balcony, one through Aang's staff, and the other, my lightsaber. Aang caught his weapon with ease, while I used the force to draw my lightsaber to my hand.

As soon as we had our weapons, the king started shooting rocks at us. Aang used his airbending and youthful agility to dodge any sent his way while, I used my lightsaber to cut and deflect them while also using the force to redirect the rocks either away from us, or back at him.

"Typical airbender tactic, avoid and evade. I'd hoped the Avatar would be less predictable." He said as he fired even more rocks. As he focused, on Aang, I pressed the advantage and attempted to use my force enhanced speed, to close the gap, and disable him, ending the fight quickly. But he noticed this, and focused more of his bending in my direction forcing me to stop and focus on not getting hit.

Getting me off him he then went back to attacking Aang, who was trying to regain his staff, which he had dropped. As Aang ran, he sent a massive blast of air, at Bumi causing him to have to stop and pull up a barrier, protecting him from the blast. "Did, someone leave the windows open? It feels a little drafty in here. Are you hoping i'll catch a cold?"

As the king was taunting I ran up and sliced my lightsaber into his barrier cutting it in half then pushed it with a massive force wave, sending both the king, and the barrier flying into the wall. After he hit the wall, he pushed the barrier back at me, along with some other earthbending moves, that sent me flying back.

I used the force to control my descent, and flipped over, landing on my feet right next to Aang, who had regained his glider. "How are you going to get me from way over there?" He taunted.

Aang attempted to rush him, while I followed in from the left, ready to back him up. As he ran, the king turned the ground he ran onto sand, causing him to sink down into it, then he sent to two massive boulders in his direction to crush him. I saw this and used the force to stop the the boulders, surprisingly I was able to stop them before they hit Aang, and had enough strength to send one flying back at the king, before letting the other one fall to the ground. _"I've never been that strong before. Only master Yoda would have been strong enough for that before. It must be what Qui-Gon told me. I'm getting stronger."_

Unfortunately the king was able to send the bolder away from him, but was promptly blasted by Aang, and sent flying back into the wall again. He then sent the other bolder flying at Aang, who just barely jumped over it, causing the king to use earthbending to cause the bolder to turn to dust as soon as it hit him.

The king then caused part of the balcony to life up in the air. Seeing this Aang, created a massive tornado, to catch it, as I prepared to use the force to do the same. As the king threw the balcony, with the help of tornado, I caught it using all the strength I could muster, before sending it back at him.

Shocked by this, the king quickly used earthbending to chop the balcony in half, sending both halfs flying around him. Aang then used this opportunity to his advantage, and jumped at the king, leveling his staff underneath the kings chin. While he did this, I used the force to stop Bumi from putting a large boulder over top of them, so that it truly would be a win.

The king looked at both of us with a smirk on his face. "We'll done you two. You fight with much fire in your heart." He then used earthbending to send himself through the earth up to the part of the balcony that is still intact and has our friends on it. Me and Aang both jumped back up to the balcony, after I deactivated my lightsaber.

"You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question." He said holding up one finger.

"That's not fair. You said you would release my friends if you finished your tests." Aang yelled, outraged that we were lied to.

"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"

"Oh come on." Sokka exclaimed from behind him.

"Answer this one question, and i will set your friends free. What is my name?" This left us just a little dumbfounded.

"From the looks of your friends, i'd say you only have a few minutes." He said as he walked away.

"How am I supposed to know his name?"

"We'll Aang, clearly this guy knew you before, or at least, enough were you would have known him to. Otherwise he wouldn't have had us go through all of this. Obviously he expects that you should remember him." I said, remembering all of the subtle clues i'd picked up on over the course of the last day, and a half.

"Think about the challenges, maybe it's some kind of riddle." Katara, suggested.

"I've got it!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Yeah!?"

"He's an earthbender right? Rocky….." _Sokka's deductive skills are truly a sight to behold._ I thought sarcastically.

"You know because of all the rocks." He quickly added.

"We are going to keep trying but that is a good backup." Katara said, as I pinched the bridge of my nose, and sighed.

"Ok, so back to the challenges." Aang said. "I got a key from a waterfall, I saved his pit, and I had a duel. Plus, he somehow knew me from before."

"Guys, pretty smart to, even if he is a little crazy. A real mad genius." My words seemed to strike Aang causing him to look up at me. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"A mad genius?"

"That's it. I know his name."

With his sudden epiphany, we all walked back to the throne room, where the king waited for us, now wearing his green attire, that he wore yesterday.

"I solved the questions the same way, I solved the challenges, and with a little help from Jon. As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities." The king then started laughing and snorting at this, most likely from some inside joke.

"Bumi, you're a mad genius." Aang then ran up and hugged the now exposed ex best friend from a hundred years ago, Bumi, now King of Omashu.

"Oh Aang, it's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit…..literally." Sokka, and Katara then walked up from behind, with their bodies almost completely covered in the crystal, only there faces remaining exposed.

"Uh over here." Katara said panicked.

"A little help." Sokka added.

Bumi then used earthbending to shatter the crystal causing it to immediately come flying of them. "Genomite is made of rock candy." He said as he grabbed a piece, and took a bite out of it. "Delicious."

"So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?" Katara asked.

"Who you calling old?" Bumi asked pretending to be offended. "Okay, i'm old."

"Why did you do all of this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asked.

"And how come you brought me in to that last duel?"

"First of all it's pretty fun messing with people. But I do have a reason." He then turned to Aang. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating fire lord Ozai. You have much to learn. And you," He said pointing at me. "You have been sent here to assist in the Avatar's mission. Your destiny, and the destiny of all who follow you, are know intertwined with the Avatar's, plus I had to make sure that your skills were up to par with the other Jedi.

"Wait, hold up!" Sokka butted in. "How is it that you know about the Jedi? Did he tell you last night when you took him away?"

"Well that's a story I believe your friend can tell later. But for now." He then turned back to Aang. "Aang, you must master the four elements, and confront the fire lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius." We both bowed to Aang's old friend. Though we were both a little shocked by his words.

Even though much of this had already been revealed to me, it was still hard to believe, and the others didn't know yet as I hadn't told them. That was going to be a weird conversation. _Though hopefully they'll be as open minded as they were before._

"And you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to defeat the fire nation." Bumi continued. Suddenly Momo runs up out of nowhere, and jumps up on Aang's shoulder. "And you'll need Momo too."

"Thank you for your wisdom. But before we leave I have a challenge for you."

And apparently the challenge was riding down the chutes of the mail system one more time, in which they ended up destroying that same guys cabbages again. All making me wonder if this guy was cursed or something.

(Rip cabbage guy. ;-;)


	7. Earth bending, and The Stolen One's

**Jonathan**

After Omashu we had flown for about a couple days. We had been going about our regular schedules in that time.

I've been trying to keep my normal Jedi skills up to par. Unfortunately not having a sparring partner, makes lightsaber training more difficult, but again I made do, practicing my forms, to the best of my ability. It didn't make up for a real person, but it was definitely better than nothing. And I didn't want to start getting sloppy now, _no telling what we'll face while we're out here._

Qui-Gon, had also taught me of an ability called, 'Electric Judgment', which he said was like sith force lightning, but did not require the dark side, to grant its use. All though I was still wary of the ability at first. He had convinced me to try. And I found it's use without the dark sides aid. Although it was difficult to use without drawing on it, which made me need to keep my guard up whenever I did use it.

Unfortunately also during this time, we were slowly running low on supplies. Mainly food. We hadn't run into a village for a while, and didn't have much money on us to begin with. Plus the food we had brought from the southern water tribe had run out. So while we were camping out in the middle of a forest, Sokka had gone out to get food. I had offered to go but he insisted, although I don't know how much of that was logical instead of him feeding his own pride, that he didn't need me to fend for him. Even after what happened at Kyoshi, he could still be a bit arrogant, and overconfident in his own abilities at times.

So here we sat, me Meditating, Aang resting on a fallen tree, and Katara finishing folding up a blanket. I sensed his return before the others did, and came out of my meditative state, when Sokka had finally come within range of the others. He had a bag with him, although it didn't look like much, especially for feeding four people.

"Great your back! What's for dinner?" Aang asked, jumping off of his resting place.

"We've got a few options." He said reaching down into the bag. First, round nuts, and some kind of Oval shaped nuts, and some rock shaped nuts, that might just be rocks."

 _We'll Sokka, you've really outdone yourself this time haven't you._ I thought sarcastically to myself. Sokka it appears had proven me right. He didn't know the area, nor any of the plant, and animal life. Which means that he would have a hard time even scavenging for food. I would've at least had the force to guide me, but Sokka didn't have such a guide.

Me, Aang, and Katara looked at each other, then back at Sokka. "Seriously, what else you got?" Katara asked.

Sokka looked back in the bag, as all of a sudden a huge bang was heard from somewhere in forest, loud enough we could feel the vibrations in the ground.

We looked around a little confused. "What was that?" Sokka asked slightly fearfully. Then another was heard, and now we had a direction to follow.

"It's coming from over there." Aang pointed toward the direction the sound was coming from. Then we all started running towards the sound except for Sokka who was still unsure. "Shouldn't we run away from huge booms, not toward them?" But we didn't listen to him as we ran forward, and hid behind another fallen tree. We looked over it to see what was making the noise.

It appeared to be a young man earthbending. He didn't appear to be more than sixteen years old. Yet he appeared to have a fine amount of control over the earth, as he lifted a large rock, and moved it, and then shot it into the wall beside him, in the little trench he was practicing in.

"He's an Earthbender." Katara said in amazement.

"Let's go meet him." Aang added in.

"He appears dangerous, so we better approach cautiously." Sokka added, always the skeptic.

But while Sokka said this Katara had somehow run past us, without alerting anyone that she had moved out into the open, to try and meet this guy. "Hello there!" She called. "I'm Katara. What's your name?"

The boy turned to look back at us with a look of first shock, and then fear, as he turned, and ran, earthbending some rocks behind him, so that we couldn't easily follow him.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang called after him.

"I just wanted to say hi." Katara said in a disappointed tone.

"He seemed afraid, when he saw us. It's hard to explain. But he seemed to think we were going to hurt him." I said in a contemplative manner.

"Hey that guy's gotta be running somewhere." Aang said. "Maybe we're near a village. And I bet that village has a market."

"Which means no nuts for dinner." Katara concluded catching on to Aang's idea.

As Aang, and Katara ran off in the direction of the possible village, Sokka had a dejected look on his face, from the lack of appreciation for his hard work. "Hey I worked hard to get those nuts."

"Come on Sokka, do you really want to sit in our camp and eat nuts, and rocks, or do you want to go get some actual food. I bet they probably have some type of meat there." I said trying to make him feel better. At my words, Sokka's mouth watered slightly, and his eyes opened wider.

"Yeah, I guess." He said as we took off after the others.

After about a half an hour of walking we finally found the village, that we were looking for. After a few minutes of looking around in the market Aang ended up spotting a straw hat, that he traded some nuts to get. Why nuts worked for this guy, I have no idea, but at least Aang has something to hide his arrow now.

"Hey!" I turned around hearing Katara, only to see her go running towards a small house that had been converted into shop. I reached out to the house, and felt the presence of the boy from earlier. I sighed, and waved Aang, and Sokka over so we could follow her in, and make sure she didn't get into any trouble.

"Hey! You're that kid." At Katara's words the kid turned around in fear to Katara. "Why did you run away before?"

"Uh..you must have me confused with some other kid." He lied quickly to cover up for earlier. Though it was confusing as to why. Did it have something to do with him earthbending.

"No, she doesn't. We saw you earthbending." At Aang's words, the kids mother quickly shut the door, and closed the window covers. Her actions confirming my suspicions.

"They saw you doing what?" She asked fearfully.

"They're crazy mom. I mean look at how they're dressed." He quickly defended again. He was trying to use our appearance to make us look unbelievable, but I could see from the look on his mother's face that it wasn't working.

"You know how dangerous that is. You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending." She chastised.

Something had clearly happened to cause his mother to be so fearful of him using his skill. Though I could only theorize, I had some idea of what happened.

Suddenly someone was knocking loudly on the door "Open up!". Sokka went to look through the window to see who it was. "Fire nation!" He reported. "Act natural." And unfortunately it appears most of the people in the room had very poor acting skills. Aang was leaning on a barrel with a cheesy smile, Katara was eating some kind of berries, and Soka, and the kid were looking oddly at and apple. I managed to actually look like I was perusing, but everyone else's poor acting skill made me want to cringe so badly.

"What do you want?" The mother asked distracting the fire nation soldier who had just walked in. "I've already paid you this week." The soldier turned with a wicked smile on his face, and I could tell he had nothing but bad intentions.

"The tax just doubled. And we wouldn't want accident now would we?" He said lighting a flame in his hands. "Fire can sometimes be so hard to control.

This act made my blood boil, which was most disconcerting. In the last few weeks, I had noticed my temper had been slightly shorter than normal. Ever since the extermination of Jedi in fact, as well as from the visions I had received when I had first got here. Although this kind of thing would have disgusted me before, now it infuriated me. And not only that, but I could not do a thing about it, or I would just draw more attention to everyone in here. And that would be no good for anyone.

It took every amount of self control I had to not lash out at the soldiers that were now robbing this poor women. If I ever saw these men again, they would pay dearly. _No, what am I thinking, revenge is not the Jedi way. I can't allow my anger to control me, no matter what it is that they are doing. We will stop the fire nation, but we will not seek revenge._ I thought trying to silence my dark thoughts. But my inner conflict still lingered.

The women looked down sadly in defeat, as she went to wear she kept her money, and gave the meager amount they had. The man then took out some of the copper pieces. "You can keep the copper ones." He said dropping them on the ground, and leaving.

I felt another spike of anger at this man, but managed to control this one as well. I was really going to have to work through my issues. If my anger continues, it could lead to the dark side. And no one would want that.

The soldier left, slamming the door on the way out. I scowled after him. "Nice guy." Sokka commented dryly. "How long has the fire nation been here."

"Five years." She responded. "Fire Lord Ozai uses his coal mines to fuel his ships."

"They're thugs." The kid butted in. "They steal from us, and everyone hear is to much of a coward to do anything about it." He finished bitterly.

"Quiet Haru." She reprimanded. "Don't talk like that."

"But Haru's an Earthbender. He can help." Katara said.

"Earthbending is forbidden." The mother of the kid, now we know is named Haru said. "It's caused nothing but misery for this Village. He must never use his abilities." My expression softened a bit. I was starting to understand what had happened.

But apparently Katara wasn't getting the picture. "How can you say that? Haru has a gift. Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend. It's a part of who we are."

"You don't understand." Haru's mother said.

"I understand that Haru can help you fight back. What can the fire nation do that they haven't done to you already?"

"They could take Haru away, like they took his father." Haru's mother said sadly.

Katara's face turned to shock, and sympathy, while Haru's face hardened.

I closed my eyes as flashes of the massacre at the Jedi temple replayed in my mind. The fire nation was just as bad as the new 'empire' that Qui-Gon has told me about, in his visits. This made my blood boil again. We would stop this, we would defeat the fire nation, and stop their atrocities once and for all.

Later, Haru leed us to his, and his mother's farm. "My mom said you can sleep here tonight. But you should leave by morning." He and his mother had been offly nice to us. Even after all that has happened they still held generous spirits, which was truly inspiring.

"Thanks." Aang responded. "I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all of your hay."

Me, Katara, and Haru, then decide to go for a walk, and so we left the barn, and started walking west.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier." Katara said as we walked. "I didn't know about your father."

"That's ok." He responded. "It's funny, the way you were talking back in the store. It reminded me of him."

"Thanks." She said meekly.

"My father was very courageous. When the fire nation invaded, he and the other earthbenders were outnumbered 10 to 1. But they fought back anyway."

"He sounds like a great man." Katara said.

"Yes." I added in. "I would very much like to meet this man someday."

"Yes, well hopefully that day will come. None of us will ever get to talk to him again as long as he's stuck in prison." Haru said bitterly, causing me to look down saddened at his words. I felt guilty for not doing more to help, but what can we do? We don't even know where he's being held.

He looks regretful for his tone. "I'm sorry, I just miss him. I haven't seen him in a very long time." I nodded to him in understanding.

"It is alright to feel emotion, your father was a man you respected and cared for. I know I would probably feel similar in your position." I look down. The reality is I was in his position. I did have family stripped away from me. Or at least as close to family, as a jedi can get.

"After the attack," He continued. "they rounded up my father and every other earthbender. And took them away. We haven't seen them since." As he said this we approached a cliff side, overlooking the sunset.

"So that's why you hide your earthbending." Katara concluded.

"Yeah." He paused, kneeled down, and picked up to small rocks and levitated them in his hand, spinning them in a circle. "The problem is, the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending." He then lowered the rocks to his hand, and crushed them into dust. "He taught me everything I know."

Katara then sat down next to Haru who was still kneeling, as I stood behind them. She then pointed to her necklace. "See this necklace?" She asked. "My mother gave it to me."

"It's beautiful." He said.

She got a sad expression before she spoke. "I lost my mother in a fire nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her." She finished looking down, mourning the memory of her parent.

This world had gone through so much, and continued to go through so much because one family fought a war. And for what? To gain power, to further a cause long forgotten? And people just went along with this, allowed cruelty to rain. It was sick, and wrong. It was just so frustrating that this was just allowed to happen.

"It's not enough is it?" Haru asked.

"No." Katara replied softly.

Haru then turned to me. "What about you? You've had that same pained expression on your face while we've been talking. What have you lost?"

I looked down as more memories flashed by. The faces of dead friends, fellow jedi, and the traitor. And yet even among all of these, the person I wondered about the most was my best friend. Callista. She had been on a recon mission that night during the temple. Though the mission was so secret, she couldn't even tell me what planet she had been sent to. Though from what I heard she didn't have any clones with her, thankfully.

Even though she was still just a padawan, she had been entrusted with this mission. She like me, had been gifted with force cloak, but was also far more skilled telepathic uses of the force, she could more easily probe the minds of those nearby, and sense one's emotions. She could always tell what I was thinking. Even when we were just initiates, she could sense what all the other initiates were thinking. The only ones who could hide anything from her, where knights and masters, and that ability only grew as she got older.

Even if she had not been as skilled in the more combative aspects of the force, she was definitely skilled in this, as well as other areas. This almost always made as the perfect team, and also made her the perfect candidate for recon ops.

I missed her greatly. I knew she was still alive though. What most people didn't know was that over the years, me and Callista had formed a force bond, and it was a strong one at that. We could sense each other from a parsec away. Though ever since that night, our bond had become foggy, almost like someone, or something was blocking it. It was still intact however, I could feel that much, and I knew she was alive.

"Jon!?" Katara's sudden shout drew me out of my reverie, as I looked back at them with slight embarrassment. I had allowed my mind to be drawn out of the here and know.

"I'm sorry, I guess I just have a lot on my mind." I then turned to Haru. "And to answer your question, I have lost a lot. Almost everything. But I still hold hope. I have my life, and I have new friends. You must always remember to hold hope, and find something to fight for. For without this, life has no meaning, and one fight is as good as the next."

At my words, Haru became contemplative for a moment, then looked back up to me. "For one as young as you, you hold much wisdom. And I thank you for it." I nod back to him, with a slight smile on my face.

We then got up to walk back to the farm. After a few minutes, we heard a crash, and saw that one of the mines we had been walking by had all of a sudden caved in, with an old man trapped sticking half way through the now closed opening with a panicked expression. "AHH, HELP!"

"The mine!" Haru exclaimed as we ran over to help. The old man continued to plead for help, as we ran to him. Katara tried to pull the man out, as me and Haru attempted to keep more rock from falling on top of him. But unfortunately the man was trapped, and could not be pulled out unless the rock was removed.

"Ahh, it's not working. We have to get help." Katara said.

"We don't have the time to get help. Haru you and I can get him out of this." I said.

"You're an earthbender?" Haru asked amazed.

"Not exactly." I reply. "But I do have the power to help, if you would only earthbend."

"I can't." He replied regretfully.

"Haru, please." Katara pleaded. "There's no one around to see you. It's the only way."

Alright." He finally said with a pained expression. "What do you have in mind."

"I'll lift the rocks, while you push them off of him back down the mine."

"How will you do this if you're not an earthbender?" He asked.

"There's no time to explain. Just trust me." He nodded to me as we both backed up, to give ourselves room. I reached out with as much of the force as I could to lift the rocks. Surprisingly I was able to lift all of the rocks off of him. Then Haru used earthbending to send all of the rocks down the mine shaft.

"Haru, Jon, you did it!" Katara exclaimed, as we went over to pick up the old man, and bring him to safety.

After a few hours, we returned to the farm, where Haru went inside, and me, and Katara, went to the barn to get ready to sleep.

"It was so brave of Haru to use his earthbending, to help the old man." Katara said as we all lay in our respective sleeping spots.

"You must have really inspire him." Aang replied.

"I guess so."

"Everyone should get some sleep. We're leaving at dawn." Sokka pipped in.

"Dawn? Can't we sleep in for once?" Katara asked.

"Absolutely not." Sokka said. "This village is crawling with fire nation troops. If they discover your hear Aang, we'll be eating fireball for breakfast. Good night." Sokka explained.

"He does have a point." I point out. "We're technically in enemy territory. We don't want to risk them getting the drop on us."

"See, Jon agrees with me."

"I'd rather eat fireballs then nuts." Katara responded snidely.

"Good night." Sokka said again, annoyed by his sister.

We all laughed a little at Sokka's annoyance. Then Katara blew out the lantern she had been holding, and we all close our eyes, and go to sleep.


	8. Prison Break

( Hey, so just as a forewarning to everyone, I have gone and revised some of my work. So by 2/13/2017. So if you've read anything before that date, you should go back and reread because I have made quite a few changes to the plot as well as fixing some other things. Though the only parts were the plot has been really changed was from chapter 3 on. So again go back and read that stuff if you haven't gotten the updated version. Otherwise, enjoy!)

 **Jonathan**

Something awoke me that night when we slept. I didn't know what it was at first, but as soon as I woke, I reached out, and felt what must have woke me. Several sources of anger, malintent, and greed were coming this way. These sources also had the telltale signs of firebenders on all but one, who felt similar to the old man we had rescued earlier.

There was only one reason that they could possibly be coming here, if they had brought the old man with them. He snitched on what me, and Haru had done to save him. We had saved his life, and he came right around and stabbed us in the back. This annoyed me greatly, but I would have to think on that later.

The old man most likely didn't know me, and the rest were hiding out in the barn. But they would know where Haru lived, which meant he was in danger. Quickly, and quietly, I woke the others.

"Jon?" Katara said sleepily. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, I know I said we leave at dawn, but it's still the middle of the night?" Sokka added in groggily.

"Shh, there's firebenders outside." My words immediately got others more alert. "I think the old man ratted out me, and Haru, and now they've come to arrest him."

"What?" Katara asked distraught. "We saved his life, and now he turns around and has Haru arrested?" Katara is angry but also clearly is feeling guilty now over this.

I went over to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, no need to worry about that now. Right now, we just need to worry about rescuing Haru." She put a determined face on, and nodded.

"Alright, what we need to do is wait for the troops to take Haru, and the others far enough away were we can leave without being noticed. Then we might even be able to jump the soldiers and rescue Haru before." Sokka said.

 _Or this could be the perfect opportunity to find the other earthbenders as well, and rescue them to._ "Sokka, I say we let the troops take him all the way back to where ever they are planning on taking him. We could find where the other earthbenders are. We could get them to help fight off the fire nation, and free this village." I countered.

"No way, that would take way too much time. Not to mention it's to dangerous."

"I agree with Jon Sokka, this might be our chance to help set this village free, along with all of the earthbenders that have been wrongly imprisoned." Katara said.

"Sokka, maybe their right." Aang added in.

"Look Sokka, this isn't going to go away if we just go and free Haru. They would see him as a wanted fugitive, and would just come after him again. If we really want to help, we have to help them, to help themselves. Besides, it will just help to drive more fire nation out of Earth Kingdom territory. If we truly want to win this war, then we have to do this." I explained. He looked down contemplative. Then he looked back at me defeated.

"I suppose there's no talking you guys out of this is there?" He asked

"No!" We both replied.

He sighed. "Great, now there's two of them." He said defeated.

"Come on Sokka." Aang said. "It's a good idea. And Jon was a general remember? I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"Fine, do you have a plan for getting them out then?" Sokka asked giving in.

"We'll need to scout out the facility there being held in first. Which we can't do until we know where it is. We have to follow the soldiers, and see where they go. Once there we can come up with a plan."

"Fine, have they taken him yet?" Sokka asked.

"Yes, they just took him. I can sense them beginning their trek back down the path. We should wait another couple of minutes before we follow them."

"Agreed." Katara said.

After a couple of minutes, when I could feel they had gone far enough, we exited the barn and followed them, at a safe distance. They took Haru and loaded him onto a ship located in the small harbor next to the village.

We followed the small ship, on Appa. The ship took him out to what looked like some kind of mining operation, out in the middle of the ocean. From where we were on top of Appa, it looked like the entire thing was made of metal.

At the top of the large metal structure that housed the prison/mining platform, it had several chimneys, of varying sizes. that was spewing out black smoke. Most likely they were burning something, but what I didn't know.

"How are we supposed to break anyone out of that monster? Especially if it's the entire prison." Sokka said doubtfully.

"They're going to have to be able to bend if we're going to have any chance at succeeding." I say.

"But that entire thing looks like it's made of metal. There's nothing to bend." Katara replied slightly doubtful.

Aang suddenly looks up at the smoke stacks. "No it's not, look at the smoke. I bet they're burning coal. In other words...earth." Aang was right. I had heard of coal, but most advanced civilizations didn't use it anymore, so it was not very common in the wider galaxy. So it wasn't something that immediately popped into my mind.

"Good eye Aang. If we can somehow get the coal into the area where the prisoners are being kept, they should be able to be able to fight enough to escape at least." I said, but then something came to my mind. If we just popped up some coal on them, they would most likely be confused, and unorganized, which could become disastrous.

"Before we enact our plan, we need to make sure that the prisoners are informed of what we're doing. They could become confused, if we just drop a load of coal on them. They need to know what's happening so that they can be prepared."

"Right, but how are we going to get into the facility to tell them?" Sokka asked.

"Just leave that part to me. I have a few skills that might come in handy."

"And what skills would those be?" Sokka asked skeptically.

"I can turn invisible." At this Sokka laughed right in my face for at least a good minute. Before he finally recovered.

"You're joking right?" At this I smirked, and then used 'Force Cloak', the rare ability, both me and Callista had learned together. She of course was better at it then me, but I was no novice. I knew what I was doing.

When I disappeared from sight, both Aang, and Katara looked amazed while Sokka looked absolutely dumbfounded, which caused me to laugh, and lose my concentration, bringing me back out.

"Believe me now?" I ask, only to get a nod from Sokka who hadn't picked his jaw back up yet, causing the rest of us to laugh.

We continued to plan, and came up with the best solution for the problem with the resources we had. During the next evening around sundown I would sneak aboard, and use Force Cloak. We were going to try and execute the plan some time during the night so the fire nation would be caught off guard.

Aang would close off all of the vents, and then use his airbending to propel the coal up onto the deck for the earthbenders. Then with their help we would break through the guards who would hopefully not have fully realized what was happening by that point, and we would escape aboard the ships that were still docked outside.

The first person I would need to talk to would be Haru, he who would be my best option for getting things ready since he's the only one we know. Also, I would probably need to get some kind of disguise. _It would be pretty weird if all of a sudden he were just talking to someone he couldn't see. And they probably wouldn't take to kindly to some guy in robes showing up to talk to the prisoners._ I would have to sneak into where ever they keep the prison uniforms, and grab one to wear.

After I had informed the inmates of the escape, we would wait 2-3 hours for everyone to get prepared, and then we would begin. Hopefully they would all be prepared by then.

"Jon, you ready?" Sokka asked. It was just about sundown, and we were preparing to go.

"Yes, make sure you guys stay out of sight until after we set the plan in motion." I said as I prepared. Because I would be in disguise, I was leaving my cloak, and most of my robes behind. Just wearing my under tunic, my pants, and some old shoes that I was being loaned by Haru's mother.

"Ok, good luck in there." Sokka said as we approached the back side of the prison on Appa.

"You to. All of you." I said looking over the rest of the group. Once Appa got close enough I leaped off of his back and onto the platform, where I immediately cloaked myself from view.

I snuck my way through the facility, using the force to confuse a guard, or unlock a door here and there. I eventually found my way to a back room full of old prison uniforms. I put the uniform on over my other clothes, hiding my lightsaber in my sleeve, as you could never be too careful. I then headed back out to try and find my way to wear the prisoners were being held, using the force to guide me.

I eventually found my way back outside, where I found a large main areas were all of the prisoners were. By now, the sun had set, and the prisoners looked like they were preparing for sleep. _They couldn't even be bothered to give them proper sleeping quarters. I wonder what other horrible things they've had to endure._ I quickly pushed those thoughts out of my head, as I snuck my way down.

As soon as I was in the main area, I checked to make sure no guards, or prisoners were watching before I uncloaked myself. _If these guards are as incompetent as I think they are, they shouldn't notice one more prisoner._ I snuck my way around quietly, trying not to disturb those who were sleeping already.

"Jon?" The voice from behind surprised me, though I quickly recognized it. I turned around to find Haru walking over to me. He had clearly seen me. "Jon, what are you doing here? Did the old man turn you in as well?"

"No actually. He probably would have if he knew where I was, but i'm actually here to coordinate with the other inmates. We've got a plan to break you all out." I quickly explained.

"You've got guts. I'll give you that. Here i'll take you to my father, he'll probably the biggest help with whatever you're planning." Haru said as he lead me through the prisoners. From what I could tell, many of them were in pretty rough shape, either from malnutrition, or more physical abuse. You could tell which ones had been here longer. It was sickening to look at, and I had to turn away.

"Dad, this is my friend, Jon. He infiltrated the prison to try and help us. And Jon, this is my father Tyro." Haru introduced us. Tyro appeared quite old, with white hair, and a receding hairline. He also had a beard that hung down to his chest. He also looked quite fit for a man who appeared to be around 55-60. He looked upon me with what appeared to be a mixture, of kindness, hope, and despair. He wanted to believe I could help, but living so long in this prison has caused him to believe it impossible to leave.

I bowed to him in a sign of respect. "I am honored to meet you Tyro."

Tyro picked up a bowl of something and handed it to me. "Have some dinner Jon." Inside the bowl appeared to be some sort of brothy liquid, with meat chunks floating in it. It looked pretty bad, though fortunately, having been in war zones with the likes of Anakin Skywalker, and having been imprisoned before, i've eaten worse.

"Don't worry." He said as I sat. "It's better than it looks." Eating it though seemed to disprove his words, though again i've eaten worse. When I made a slight face of disgust he added. "It's still pretty bad though."

"Don't worry i've eaten some pretty bad things in my time. Though this isn't very high on my list of foods, it's not the worst either." I said.

"Then you must have had a hard life. And for one so young that is a terrible thing to hear." Tyro said sympathetically.

"War tends to do that." I reply. "But, this is not the reason I am here. I am here to help you all escape. So that you may return to your homes, and don't have to live in this dreadful place anymore." I explain to him.

"You must be remarkably skilled, to have infiltrated this prison without being noticed, and I appreciate your efforts. But the Warden is a ruthless man, and he won't stand for any rebellion. In here, our only goal is to survive. We are powerless." He said downtrodden.

"I know the feeling you have. You feel that their is no hope, and all you want to do is survive. But to continue to live like this, is not living. To live is to have free will over your life. To be able to choose, and to go where one sees fit. To love, and to defend those you love. You cannot do these things here. You are far stronger than you know. All of you are." Even if the man believed my words, he still looks like a man who has been crushed, and he had been. So many years in this prison has nearly destroyed any fight this man might have had.

"Please, just hear me out. We have a plan, and i'm sure if we all work together, this might just work." I pleaded.

He sighs. "If you must then tell me what it is you have in mind." I then go on to explain to him how it is we plan to have them escape, with the coal, and when we plan to do it.

"I admit part of me thinks this could be a good plan. But it is hard for me to hopeful, since we have lived so long without it."

"Then you must learn to hope again. If you do not fight, then the fire nation will have won, and they will continue to steal from the innocent, and infest your land. You must fight back." I continue to persuade. I can tell that i'm starting to break through. Just a little bit more and I will have won him over.

"I will talk to the others, see what they think of your plan. Hopefully if they can be convinced of this plan, we will be able to escape, as you believe we can." Tyro finally said.

After about half an hour most of the others had been informed of the plan. Many were reluctant, but a few wanted to try. They wanted to be free again, and be able to finally rid their home of the fire nation. They still had hope for a better future. But they were scared. I could feel fear mixed with the hope. I could only hope that the fear would not stop them from fighting.

After a couple hours, I returned to the meeting spot, with the others. There we begun our plan. Me, Katara, and Sokka snuck back into the main area, while Aang snuck below where they were burning the coal, so that he could airbend back up the vent.

Unfortunately something was going amiss. I could sense, that the guards were more on alert then they should have been. Perhaps they had seen something amiss, or they were simply more attentive than I would have thought. Any number of things could have gone wrong, that I had not foreseen. Nevertheless, we needed to be very cautious. Luckily we had the dark to hide us. For now.

I could sense the guards getting closer when it finally happened. Coal shot out of the vent covering the area we had been standing in with it. This of course caught the guards attention.

"There's the intruders." A guards shouted, as they began to surround us. We all got into fighting stances.

Suddenly Katara ran up to the mountain of coal and grabbed a piece. "Here's your chance earthbenders, take it. Your fate is in your own hands." Even with all we had done, even with their chance right in front of them, they hesitated. Their fear caused them to question what to do.

Laughing broke out from a man behind us. I turned to glare at the man behind us. "Foolish girl you thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh, but you still believe in them. How sweet. They're a waste of your energy. You failed."

His words made my blood boil. These people may have lost hope, and be afraid, but I would not allow this man to continue to do this. I would fight for them even if they would not fight for themselves. "No!" I shouted, which surprised the old warden. I walked forward. "We have not failed. We will never fail while we still draw breath. Even if they will not fight for themselves. I will fight. I will continue to fight until I can no longer. You may have broken these people, but that will stop me from fighting you, and people like you until I draw my final breath.

My words angered the man. "You truly are a foolish bunch. Especially you boy. You would throw your life away for people who will not even stand up for themselves?"

"Yes." I respond immediately.

"Why?"

"Because I believe in defending others. Even if they don't want it, or will not even help themselves." I then did something no one in the crowd was expecting. I drew my lightsaber. I let it fall into my hand from where it was still hidden in my sleeve. I then ignited it. Everyone except my friends gasped in shock at the blue blade. I then got into an Ataru ready stance. "I am a Jedi, keeper of the peace, and defender of the innocent, and I will not stand by and allow this to continue. Stand aside, and let your prisoners leave." I knew the warden would never allow this. I could sense the truth to Tyro's words. He was a ruthless man, and would not stand for this for very long.

He quickly recovered from his shock, and became quite angry. "As you wish boy." He then went to blast me with fire. Before I could react, a wall of coal came up in front of me, stopping the blast of fire. I turned back to see it had been Tyro, while Haru started to fire coal at the other guards. It then turns into chaos. Earthbenders, and firebenders, fighting all over the place.

The only light we have is from the full moon, the stars, and the occasional bouts of fire from the attacks. I continue to force push, throw rocks, and slash fire benders with my lightsaber while simultaneously dodging and deflecting fire whenever they attempt to shoot me, or one of my friends. While this was happening Sokka worked on taking the spears from the non bender guard, and cutting off the tips giving them to Momo.

Eventually Haru, and Tyro are able to push through, and break an opening in the wall so that we can escape. While the earthbenders escape, me and my friends stay behind to hold them off along with Haru, and Tyro. I send a massive force wave at the guards sending rocks their way as well, knocking them off their feet, along with the warden.

Then Haru, Tyro, and another earthbender moved a pile of coal underneath the guards, and the warden, and lifted them up over the edge. "No please! I can't swim." Pleaded the warden. His cowardice now showing through.

"Don't worry I hear cowards float." Tyro said as they dumped the remaining guards over the side, into the ocean. I deactivate my lightsaber as we flee the prison. We got all of the prisoners on the ships, and move away from the facility.

We had done it. Not everything had gone one hundred percent according to plan, but we did it anyway. The earthbenders were free to take back their lives, and their homes.

Me, and Katara stood on one of the ships as we sailed away. "I wanted to thank you both for saving us." Haru said as he, and Tyro approached us from behind.

"All it took was a little coal." Katara said humbly, as she rubbed the back of her head.

"It wasn't the coal Katara. It was you two." Haru responded.

"Thank you for helping me find my courage. Katara of the water tribe, and Jon…..Jedi." He gave me a curious look as he said that last part.

I nod. "Yes sir."

"My family, and everyone here owes you much." He continued.

"So I guess you're going home now." Katara said.

"Yes, to take bake my village." He began, then shouted to the rest. "To take back all of our villages!" The others cheered. "The fire nation will regret the day they set foot on our lands!"

As Katara, and Haru continued to talk, I jumped back onto Appa. I began to meditate, and ponder the day's events. We had done well. We had some casualties, but that is the reality of any battle, you will always lose some no matter how good a plan, or how prepared you are. But casualties today were held to a minimum, and that's really all you can hope for.

But we had succeeded in our goal. We had freed the earthbenders of that prison, and now they are free to reclaim their homes from the fire nation. Which will be good for them, for the nation, and for the war effort. The more land that can be freed the better.

As we prepared to leave, and continue our journey, Katara returned, only something wasn't right. She had a great deal of sadness, and a sense of loss on her now. When I opened my eyes, I could see it on her face as well. "Katara are you alright?" I ask.

Sokka, and Aang both look at me curiously before turning to Katara to see what I had seen on her face. "Yeah Katara, what is it?" Aang asked.

She then put her hand to her neck, and it was then I knew what it was. Her mother's necklace was gone. I had remembered it's importance from her discussion with Haru the day we had come to there village. It was the last thing she had of her mother. The last piece of her, that she could hold on to. Apparently Sokka realised this as well, as his facial expression changed to one of shock, and then sorrow.

"I'm sorry Katara. I know how much that meant to you." She nodded, as she mourned again the memory of her lost parent. And she continued to mourn even as we flew off on Appa. It was truly a great loss for her.


	9. Spirits, and old friends

**Jonathan**

It was a peaceful day for flying. It had only been a day since we rescued the earth bender prisoners, but it had also been peaceful in that time. It was slightly cloudy, but that didn't interrupt the beauty of this day. Especially when we were flying through the sky on Appa.

Aang was relaxing in his spot on Appa's head, Sokka sat at the front of the saddle carving something, Katara lay looking down at the clouds, while I sat peacefully at the back, enjoying the peace. My mind wandered a bit to my current position in the universe.

It was so weird that in a short time I had gone from being in a galaxy which had remarkably advanced technology, to a world which barely had any, and solely relied upon bending, and more primitive inventions. Though this was not all bad. True things were far more difficult here, and took way longer to do, it was also quite peaceful. Even now I felt far more intune with nature. I had to work far harder to achieve something then I would have before. The only tech I had on me that was really advanced was my lightsaber.

Though there would be some things I would miss, like being able to use communicators, more advance medicines, or even simple things, like the ability to take a shower, this kind of life would be something I could get used to.

But there was one thing that really frightened me above all. Not only was I one of the last of the Jedi. I was the only Jedi on planet, and had no way of communicating with any others. I didn't even know if I was even in the same universe anymore. I would have to start the order all over again. From scratch. I wouldn't even be able to gain help from other lost Jedi, or Jedi artifacts.

Though Qui-Gon had said something about meeting people from my past. Which could only be people from the greater galaxy, and would most likely be Jedi, though I couldn't be sure of that. I also couldn't be sure if they would even help me, as he also said they may want to help me, or stop me.

Along with this matter though, many things in training would have to change as well. For example, this world didn't have the technology for lightsabers, so any apprentices I would take would be forced to resort back to force imbued swords like the ancient Jedi used before the invention of Lightsabers. And that was one of many things that would change.

Gaining apprentices would be another matter. So far I hadn't met anyone who I sensed to have a great amount of force sensitivity, even enough to become a Jedi. To restart the order would be difficult indeed.

"Those clouds look so soft don't they?" Katara said suddenly. I shook my head as I was pulled from my thoughts. "Like you could just jump down, and you would land in a big, soft, cottony heap." She finished slightly dreamily.

"Maybe you should give it a try." Sokka said sarcastically.

"You're hilarious." She retorted.

"Actually Katara, those clouds are made of water vapor. It's just highly condensed. It may look solid, but it is in fact just water, in a gas form. You would fall right through." I tried to explain.

"Way to ruin a girls dreams, Jon." She responded playfully. I just shook my head.

"I'll test it!" Aang suddenly shouted, as he jumped off of Appa, glider in hand, and fell down, right through the clouds just as I had said, laughing all the way, like the young boy he still was.

Katara, and Sokka looked over the side, in concern for the boy, while I continued to sit, shaking my head, and sighing to myself at the boys immaturity.

He came flying back up on his glider about ten seconds later, completely drenched from passing through the cloud. "Jon was right. Clouds are just made of water." He said as he airbent the water off of himself.

Katara then turned forward, and said. "Hey what is that?" We all turned to see what she was looking at. Down below there was a large patch of forest that had been burnt down, and left a large black mark on the landscape. It was a horrible thing to see. So much destruction had been wrought due to the fire.

"It's like a scar." Sokka said.

We then landed to survey the damage. As we landed I could sense something in the force. It was a deep seeded anger, that seemed to envelope the entire area. It didn't seem like it was person though. This anger had much power behind it, power no normal human from this planet would have.

As we got off Appa, and looked around, we could see that it looked, and even felt worse, than it had from the air. All of the tree's had been completely burnt down, and the ground was all ash.

"It's so quiet." Sokka said "There's no life anywhere."

Sokka was correct. There was not a single sound being made, besides what me, and the rest were making. It was an almost eerie silence. There was no sounds of life anywhere.

The seen hit us all hard, but I could tell it hurt Aang, the most. The air nomads, from what I knew, were a very spiritual people, and very intune with nature. Even more so than the Jedi, especially since we had moved to Coruscant, which was all city, no natural environment anywhere. All enveloped by the advanced races that inhabited the planet. It was sad really, but it was how it was. _Hopefully when I restart the order here, I can get us a more natural setting than that of Coruscant, i'll definitely have plenty of options here._ I thought to myself.

"Fire Nation!" Sokka exclaimed. I looked over to find he was kneeling over what looked like tracks, both human, and some from their mounts, in the ash. "Those evil savages make me sick. They have no respect for-"

"Shh" Katara interrupted his ranting.

"What, I'm not allowed to be angry?" Sokka questioned.

Katara then pointed over to Aang, who had his head hanging sadly. This was really hitting him hard. And in a way I felt the same. Life ' _was'_ something that was sacred. This was depressing to see. Normally I would be just as angry as Sokka, perhaps more. But I was doing better now, at restraining that negative emotion. Instead I felt only sorrow.

Aang then fell to his knees, with a sigh. "Why would anyone do this?" He asked as he scooped up some of the ash, then let if fall back down from his hand. "How could I let this happen?" Aang, as it would appear was blaming himself for this, though why, I didn't know.

Katara stepped forward, and tried to comfort him. "Aang you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you."

"Yes it does." He pouted. "It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But I don't know how to do my job."

"That's why we're going to the north pole. To find you a teacher." Katara tried to comfort him.

"Yeah, a waterbending teacher. But there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me." Aang replied.

"The Avatar before you?" Sokka asked. "He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?"

"I don't know." Aang replied, dejectedly.

As we rested for a little while I though on Aang's predicament. I didn't know how it would work for him to contact one of his past lives. I barely understood the rules of this world. I had been in contact with Master Qui-Gon obviously, and it was possible that contacting Roku would involve a similar process.

Of course this wasn't the force we we're dealing with, and it could turn out to be far more complicated than it would be to contact Qui-Gon. And even then Qui-Gon didn't always respond when I called. He had said that it was difficult to come to me. So it might not be very effective. Of course this Roku was also Aang's past life. It could be even easier for him to contact Aang since they have such a link.

Of course the only way to prove any of these things would be to test them. Which could prove either rather simple, or rather difficult.

"Hey Aang." Katara suddenly said. I looked up to to her walking over to Aang, with her hands behind her back. "Are you ready to be cheered up?" She asked.

"No." Aang responded, still depressed. Suddenly Katara through something at Aang's head.

"Ow!" Aang exclaimed after it hit him. "Hey, how is that cheering me up?" Sokka then started laughing slightly.

"Cheered me up." Katara then through another of whatever that was at Sokka. "Ow! Yeah I probably deserved that."

She then walked over to Aang and kneeled in front of him showing him another of whatever these were. "These acorns are everywhere Aang. That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree some day, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back." She said as she placed the 'acorn' in his hand. _So these 'acorns' are some kind of seed? I guess I should have realised that._

Aang got a small smile on his face. "Thanks, Katara." A strange scraping noise was then heard from behind us. We all turned to see an old man walking towards us, using a wooden cane.

"Hey, who are you?" Sokka immediately questioned.

"When I saw the flying Bison, I thought it was impossible, but those markings...are you the Avatar child?" The old man asked. Aang then looked to Katara for confirmation, and she nodded, so Aang nodded to the old man.

"My village desperately needs your help." So the old man took us back to his small village. It was about sundown when we got there.

When we arrived I took a look around. A couple of the buildings on the left side of the small village had been completely ruined. He walked us all the way to the large building at the rear of the village.

Inside was most of the villager's, and they had fear all about them, though from what, I couldn't say. The man took us to a younger man, who I assumed was their leader. "This young person is the Avatar."

The man turned to Aang. "So the rumors of your return are true." He then bowed to Aang, and Aang returned it. "It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence."

"Nice to meet you to." Aang replied. Then unexpectedly he turned to me.

"And I assume you are the young man that has been talked about. With the strange abilities, and sword of fire, calling himself, Jedi?" I was shocked. I had expected rumors to surface of us, but I did not expect myself to be so easily recognized. I suppose I would stand out compared to the others, but I had just never thought about it before.

I got over my shock, and bowed to the man. "You would be correct. I am Jonathan Rahhn." He bowed in return

"I have never heard of someone like you before. But never the less, it is a great honor to be in your presence as well." We then stood there a little awkwardly for a moment until Aang spoke up.

"So, is there something I can help you with?" He asked. I was curious as well. The old man had never fully explained what it was, that was wrong, he was just really insistent that we come to help, and the only clues were the destroyed buildings out front.

"I'm not sure." The man said as he looked down, with an expression that told of a man that had lost hope.

"Our village is in crisis." The old man said walking forward. "He's our only hope." The man nodded, as the old man went on the explain the situation. "For the last few days at sunset, A spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei Bai, the black and white spirit."

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asked.

"We do not know." The leader spoke up as he walked forward to the door way. "But each of the last three nights he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near."

"What happens then?" Katara asked.

"As the solstice approaches, the natural world, and the spirit world grow closer, and closer, until the line between them is blurred completely." The old man explained.

"Hei Bai is already causing devastation, and destruction. Once the solstice is here, there is no telling what will happen."

"Is it possible the spirit is angry because of the destruction of the forest?" I ask, finally speaking up.

Everyone turns to me. "What do you mean?" The leader asks.

"I don't think this spirit would just start destroying your village out of the blue. There has to be a motive." I then stop and think for a moment, then ask. "Tell me, how does this spirit appear? Does it come out of the forest?"

"Yes, but how would you know that?" The old man asked.

"Because when we're in forest earlier, I felt a great anger lingering there, but not one of a mortal being. If the spirit comes from the forest, then that must be it's home. The destruction of it's home would have angered it, possibly enough for it to seek vengeance against humankind. If this is true, then you must find a way to appease the spirit."

"But we do not know how to do that." The leader said. "We don't know what the spirit would possibly want, and it wasn't even us who destroyed the forest."

"So what should I do exactly?" Aang asked.

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world, and the spirit world, than the Avatar himself?" The old man said leaning down to Aang. "You are the great bridge between man, and spirit." All though this may be true, what the old man didn't realise, was that Aang would have had no idea how to do that. He was just a twelve year old boy. He hadn't learned everything he would need yet.

"Right." Aang said. "That's me." Aang looked off confused, and unsure.

"Hey great bridge guy." Katara suddenly asked. "Can I talk to you over here for a second?"

I had an idea of what was on Katara's mind so I followed them to the window, perhaps I would be able to help the young Avatar. Sokka followed me over. "Aang, you seem a little unsure about all of this." Katara said, as she leaned against the window sill.

"Yeah, That's because I don't know anything at all about the spirit world." Sokka, and Katara gave each other unsure looks as i continued to think. Even though his culture was very spiritually based, he did not have experience with the spirits. Even though he was a master airbender, he had much to learn. Even I wasn't very spiritually attuned with the force, so trying to help with this stuff, which I didn't know much about would be almost impossible.

"It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff." Aang exclaimed in frustration.

"So can you help these people?" Katara asked.

"I have to try don't I?" Aang replied.

"When the spirit does come Aang, you should try to understand it. Why it's angry. Try to make a connection with it. See if you can make some kind compromise. I've never been the best at this spiritual stuff, but from what I know, fighting it should be a last resort. I said finally speaking up.

"Ok, i'll try it your way." Aang replied.

"But what if it won't listen?" Sokka asked skeptically.

"Don't worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve that might help us out a bit. Though I will leave to Aang to try first. I'll come in if he fails." I try to console.

"I think you can do it Aang." Katara said supportively.

"Yeah. We're all gonna get eaten by a spirit monster." Sokka said not as positively.

"We'll think like that Sokka, and we definitely will. And you will probably go first." I said slightly mocking his negative attitude.

"Hey! What do you mean i'll go first?"

"We'll negative attitudes generally tend to draw in bad luck." I said with a smirk.

"Yeah, whatever." He said crossing his arms. The rest of us laughed.

We ended up waiting just a couple hours until the sun was just about to go under the horizon. We all waited inside while Aang stayed outside to confront the spirit when it shows up. We we're all anxious, and I was prepared to go outside and do what I could to help if he failed.

"Hello?" Aang called slightly unsure. "Spirit? Can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm here to try to help stuff." The sun continued to set, and still the spirit did not show. Though I sensed through the force that there was something out there. Something angry, and waiting. It was also ancient, and powerful. More so than any being I had ever met before.

"This isn't right." Sokka suddenly said. "We can't just sit here, and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up."

"If anyone can save us, he can." The old man said who was watching from behind us.

"He still shouldn't have to face this alone." Sokka replied. He was getting anxious, which was understandable. But he needed to control himself, if he were to go out there now, all that would happen is he would get taken like the others.

"Just be patient Sokka, if it is too much for Aang, I will try to help. But no matter what happens you must stay inside." I said to him.

"But what happens if it's too much for you." Sokka refuted. "I'm not just gonna sit here and let my friends get hurt by some spirit monster."

"In this case you would not be of much help. I don't mean to offend, but your boomerang most likely will not do much against a spirit. Only me, and Aang have the power to stop it." I replied calmly.

"Fine." He said. "But I still don't like this." We continued to watch, and wait from indoors, while the sun continued to descend. But still nothing happened. Finally the sun went all the way down, and the only thing offering light, was the stars, and moon above.

"The sun is set." Aang called again. "Where are you Hei Bai?" Still nothing happened.

"We'll spirit uh." He put on a facade of confidence. "I hereby ask you to please leave this village in peace." He then spun his staff in the air, and slammed the staff end to the ground, in a defensive manner.

"Ok. Well, I guess that's settled then." When still nothing happened, Aang appeared to think that was the end of it. But I knew better. The spirit was just about to appear. And it indeed did.

As soon as Aang turned around to start to head back to the village a giant monster came out. It was massive. Not as big as the Zillo beast, but still quite large compared to any humanoid. It was black and white, and walked on two arms in front which were white, and two legs in back which were black. It also had another pair of arms above the ones it walked on. It had a large head, and inside it's mouth were rows of very sharp teeth.

It was one of the more terrifying things i had ever seen in my life. But I wasn't about to let fear control me, I might be needed. We looked on in horro, as it followed Aang, though he must have heard it behind him, because he eventually turned around to see it following him.

"You must be the Hei Bai spirit." Aang said innocently. "My name is-" Aang never got to finish as the spirit cut him off by screaming at him. When it screamed it emitted a bright blue, and white light out of it's mouth. It then stood up on it's hind legs and roared again, before running off, and starting to destroy more buildings.

"My name is Aang!" Aang shouted trying to regain the spirits attention. "I'm the Avatar, and I would like to help." He then saw what the spirit was doing, and then went to intervene. "Hey, wait up!"

The situation was deteriorating quickly, the spirit was not only not listening to Aang, it was continuing to destroy more, and more property. _I need to intervene, before anything worse happens._ I turned to my companions. "You guys stay here, i'm going to go see if I can help." I said.

"Wait, what do you think you're doing?" Katara asked as I ran out the door.

"Evening the odds." I replied.

Thankfully they didn't try to follow me out. When I got outside I saw the massive amount of destruction that had occurred. This thing was definitely fast, and strong. I didn't want to have to fight this thing if I could help it. I then saw Aang get knocked back, and land right next to me.

Aang looked back at me, surprised to see me, but before he could say anything, I closed my eyes, and allowed the force to flow in me. I would need it's help. As soon as I was ready I reached out to attempt to connect to the spirit, maybe calm it down.

As soon as I had made a connection I felt what was inside. The spirit was not malevolent, but it was vengeful. It was full of hate, and anger at mortal beings. I saw images of the devastating fire, that destroyed part of it's home. I felt for it, it had lost a lot, and it was just taking out it's rage. It was causing a great deal of damage, but I understood it's pain.

I was about to attempt to to calm it, but then something happened. The connection snapped, like a rope bearing too much weight. The connection broke, and sent a back lash at me. It stunned me, and I didn't know why, or how it happened. I hadn't lost focus, but somehow I had failed. I opened my eyes, but before I could react, the spirit ran at me it grabbed me, and then took off into the forest.

"JON!" I heard Aang call. "Hold on i'm coming!" I looked back to see him on his glider flying towards us, and actually catching up to us. "Grab my hand." He yelled. I reached out but before I could grab hold, everything went white.

After a few moments I was finally able to regain my senses. _Where am I?_ I looked around and could tell I definitely wasn't in the forest anymore. I also wasn't in the clutches of the Hei Bai, it was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Aang, nor anyone else, I appeared to be alone, but I couldn't be sure of that. Something was blocking me. Clouding my senses. I couldn't tell where I was.

In fact everything around me was clouded, I was surrounded by a fog everywhere I looked. _Another fine mess you've gotten yourself into Jon._ I chastised myself.

I then heard something behind me, a sound I hadn't heard in just about a month. A sound I never thought I would hear again. It was the sound of clashing lightsabers. I turned, and just as I did the fog cleared, and I saw to figures fighting. It was dark, and I couldn't quite make out any distinct features. But I could tell one was a young women, and one was a man.

The man carried two green lightsabers, he looked to be roughly six feet tall, but I couldn't make out anything more. The girl on the other hand was quite a bit shorter, almost half a foot shorter than the man, and she carried one purple lightsaber.

Both of the figures were familiar, yet unrecognisable with the mixture of fog, and darkness shrouding there figures. I felt a call to help, but didn't know which to help. I didn't know who either of these people were, nor why they were fighting.

I ran forward toward the two combatants, and activated my blue blade. "Stop!" I shouted. As I got closer the two become more, and more familiar, until I was almost certain who they were. When they heard me, they both took a glance to me while they were in a blade lock.

"Jon!" The girl shouted, almost panicked. "Help me. He's trying to kill me." In the instant she spoke I knew exactly who it was. Her face was now revealed and I could see clearly. It was Callista, just as she was when I last saw her, only a month ago. The only difference was her robes were worn from use, and she was sweating from the intense duel.

Before I could move the other spoke as well. "No, do not help her! I am your master, you must trust me!" His face cleared as well and I saw the face of A'Sharad Hett. It had been years since he disappeared, but I could never forget the face of the man who had trained me. But their was something different about him. He looked angry. More so than I had ever seen him. But at the same time he looked friendly, and inviting, he gave me a feeling like I should want to help him, but I couldn't get over the fact that there was something wrong.

I still couldn't sense him with the force which was troubling. But he was my master once. _I should trust him shouldn't I?_ The two broke the blade lock, and continued to duel, it was fast, and elegant. Callista had improved since I had last seen her, and my master was just as good as he had been. They came into another lock, and Callista looked to me again.

"Don't listen to him Jonathan." Callista called. "He's not the man you once knew. Please, we're friends. Help me." She continued to plead, and I could feel the sincerity in her voice. She was scared. But I was conflicted, I cared about her greatly. I should want to help her, save her more than anything. But I should also think the same of my master.

"Apprentice, please." A'Sharad called. "She is a deceiver. She only wishes to harm you." There was a dark edge in his tone, one that had not been there before.

"Don't listen to him. He's trying to turn you."

I realised something then. _Did he just call me Apprentice?_ While it was true I was once his student, he had never called me that. He had always called me padawan, or by my name. He had never called my Apprentice before. And the way he said it, was almost menacing. There was malice there. No but it couldn't be. He was a Jedi. But still.

I continued to fight with myself, while they dueled. The more I thought about, the more I knew the truth, that I didn't want to believe. _He is not the same as he was. I may not want to believe it but it's true. He has fallen._ I knew then what I had to do.

Looking back to the fight, I saw Callista had been knocked down, and she was exhausted. Her lightsaber lay by her side, and she had burn marks on her arms, and legs where the she had been cut. A'Sharad leapt at her, about to deal the killing blow.

"Nooo!" I shouted as I gathered the force and fired the largest force push I could muster at him, sending him flying at least 50 meters. I ran to Callista's side, deactivating my lightsaber as I ran. She had fallen unconscious, and she was in rough shape, but she was alive at least, and she was breathing steadily.

I was angry with myself for letting this happen, but I was shocked at who had done this. My master, the man who I had once trusted with my life, had tried to kill my best friend. I looked over to him, he was getting up, and had rage written all over his face. And his eyes had the signature sickly yellow, of a darksider. At this moment my senses cleared, but I didn't need them to sense what had happened. His entire presence was enveloped in the dark side. But Callista was completely different. She had in her almost all light.

I looked down at her with a sad expression, then I turned to her fallen weapon, and pulled it to my hand. I then stood, and ignited both of the blades. Blue in my right, purple in my left. I stared down my fallen master as he glowered at me. Without a word he charged at me.

He was fast, but I knew him, and the way he fought. We had trained together for years. He closed the distance quickly and he swung at me while I simply waited for him. We clashed blades. Blue, and purple on green. Our duel was fast paced and intense.

Although Jar'Kai was not my favored style I was quite proficient in handling two blades. And so we continued to duel. He struck at every spot he could trying to pierce my defenses, but I held firm. When he had disappeared, my defence had been weak, but under Master Kenobi it had greatly improved. I was ready for anything my old master through my way. I blocked, and parried every strike he threw my way.

He was skilled though, and this fight would not be an easy one. I knew that from the start. We continued to trade blows, my offense was not as good as his, but I had the advantage on defense.

We fought for what felt like hours, though it probably was more likely 15 minutes of dueling. It was intense, and were both growing weary. But my knowledge of Soresu was saving me, and allowed me to conserve more of my energy. He eventually started to show signs of weakness, making mistakes he had not before. In an attempt to fend me off he threw a force push my way, which sent me skidding backwards before I caught myself.

He attempted to use my distraction to his advantage. He attempted two side arcing strikes, but I fluidly jumped over him, and landed behind him. Before he could fully turn around, stabbed him in the back. I pulled the blades back out, and then deactivated them, just as he dropped his blades, and dropped them to the ground. He then turned, and I saw smoke start to envelope him, especially around the death blow, I had given him.

"Better watch yourself apprentice. I'm coming for you." He said ominously as he vanished into the fog. I took a moment to collect myslef. I was shaken from the experience. My own master. The man I had once trusted with my life, and me his had turned on me. Had tried to kill my friend. What was going on? Ever since that night at the temple, my life has been turned upside down.

I then ran over to the still body of my best friend. When I got to her it seemd she had improved some, and when I touched my hand to her forehead she groaned slightly.

I put her blade into her hands, as her eyes fluttered open. Her blue eyes looked confused, and unfocused for a moment. "Callista! Callista it's me!" At my words her eyes focused on me.

"Jon?" Her voice was weak, but atleast it was there.

I'm here, it's alright, you're safe." I said as I lifted her into a sitting position.

She looked at me and got a small playful smile. "About time you got in there. Made me do all the work for you so you got all the glory. Typical." She said sarcastically, and I laughed slightly.

"Hey you know me, I wouldn't get anywhere without you." She laughed slightly, before breaking down into a coughing fit. She then began to fade slightly.

"Hey!" I said trying to keep her awake. "Stay with me. Don't go, I need you." My voice broke as I said this. She looked at me, with a flicker of hope in her eyes.

"Find me Jon. Find me." Her body then vanished as the fog enveloped her. She was no longer in my grasp. I looked down at my arms, and felt overwhelming sadness, as tears that had been threatening before, were coming down from my eyes. _"Find me Jon. Find me."_ Her words repeated in my mind.

I then got a feeling of determination. "Don't worry Callista. I will find you again. I promise." It was then that the fog began to envelope me, and the bright light returned. I closed my eyes, allowing myself the brief moment of pain.

When I next opened my eyes, I was kneeling on the ground at the opening to the village. Around me were what looked like other villagers. They must have been the one's that were taken. Aang had found a way to free us. There was also some type of tree that didn't look like it belonged there.

I quickly composed myself, wiping away the last of the tears, and stood. I knew I probably still looked like a mess, but it would have to do.

"Jon!" I looked over to see Katara, Sokka, and Aang rush over to me. Katara, and Aang hugged me, while Sokka simply stood behind them, but with a smirk that told me he was glad I was ok.

"Are you ok? You were trapped in the spirit world for 24 four hours." That surprised me. It felt more like maybe half an hour. But 24 hours? Time really must fly fast over there.

I looked down at them and tried to put on a happy face. "I'm alright. Nothing bad happened to me in there." I replied, though none of them looked like they believed me.

"Are you sure?" Katara asked. "It looks live you've been crying." I guess it was more obvious than I thought.

"No, I just saw some people I used to know. Trust me, i'm fine." I replied evenly. Katara looked like she wanted to pursue this, but ended up letting it go.

"So how did you free us Aang?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"It was like you said. The spirit was just angry because his home was destroyed. But I showed him that it would grow back, and that I understood, and he left." He replied.

I put a hand on his shoulder, and answered with a smile. "Good job Aang. You have done well." Aang beamed at my praise.

After all the villagers were accounted for we gathered at the center of the small village. "Thank you, Avatar." The village leader said. "If only there were a way to repay you for what you've done."

Sokka immediately piped in. "You could give us some supplies, and some money."

Katara than elbowed her older brother. "Sokka."

"What? We need stuff." It was true that we were low on essentials. But were we really going to take advantage and have them pay for our services.

"It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey." The leader said before he walked off. _I guess that answers my question._

Katara then turned to Aang. "I'm so proud of you Aang. You were able to figure out what to do all on your own."

"Actually I did have a little help." He then looked down. "And there's something else." What had happened since I was gone. Obviously Aang experienced something, but I couldn't figure out what.

"What is it?" Sokka asked.

"I need to talk to Roku, and I think I found a way to contact his spirit."

"And how did you learn this information?" I asked slightly concerned.

"I may have taken a little trip to the spirit world while I was searching for you earlier. Accidentally of course. I was visited by Roku's animal spirit guide." So that's what happened. Aang must've been hit by something when I had been sent to the spirit world, that caused him to go as well.

"That's great!" Katara exclaimed.

"Creepy, but great." Sokka added.

"There's a temple on a crescent shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice, i'll be able to speak with him." Aang explained.

"Yeah, and there's one more problem. The island is in the fire nation." This was deeply concerning.

"So you're telling me the only way to speak to Roku, is in enemy territory?" I ask, in disbelief.

"Yeah, pretty much." Aang replied. I sighed, and massaged my temples, from the headache that was coming on.

"Well, I guess we all better get some rest then. If you really plan on going there, it's going to be a long day tomorrow, and we're going to need to all of the rest we can get." And we truly were. This would be a big test. One that would difficult, for each and everyone of us. No doubt we were going to face opposition even getting there. We truly would need to be well rested, it was going to be a long day.


	10. The Winter Solstice

**Jonathan**

That night while the others slept I decided to Meditate. I was confused by what I had seen when Hei Bai had taken me. I wanted to believe that all it was, was a vision created from my memories, or maybe even a vision of the future, but something told me it wasn't that simple. It had felt so real. I needed answers. And there was only one person who I knew that could possibly have them.

I had found a secluded spot at the edge of the village, behind some buildings so no one would interrupt me, or try to eavesdrop. Most likely none besides a Jedi, or Aang would even be able to see who I was going to talk to. They would just see me talking to myself, and that would only make me look crazy.

" _Master Qui-Gon? Are you there?"_ I sat there for several minutes. Everyone once in awhile I would call out again. I was about to give up when I was finally answered.

" _ **I am here young one. What is it you seek."**_ Qui-Gon finally responded.

"What happened?" I asked bluntly. "When I was taken, it was almost like a vision, but it felt like more than that. What is it I saw?" Confusion was evident in my voice as I spoke.

" _ **What you saw, was in part a vision. But that was not all it was."**_ He answered vaguely.

"What do you mean? What was it?" I asked again. "What is it you're hiding from me?" I was starting to get slightly annoyed. I was confused. He was supposed to be my guide, yet Qui-Gon refused to help me understand what it was that had happened. _What had I seen?_

" _ **That is not something I can answer. You must discover this on your own."**_ He answered, apparently refusing to give me more. _**"But do not fear, all will become clear, sooner than you think."**_ With that Qui-Gon left, leaving me more confused than ever.

 _What did he mean? Am I actually going to see Callista again?_ I reached out into the force to try and find our bond again. The bond was there, it felt almost like it had since I arrived, though something was off. It was almost as if she was closer than before, which was encouraging, but she was still blocked, which still left me saddened.

After I checked the bond again, my thoughts then went to a darker subject. _A'Sharad Hett._ Was I to see him as well? And would he be like he was in my vision, so lost in the dark side? Something told me, if I did see him, he would be. And he would probably be much tougher than he was in the vision. Then he almost seemed like he was just as powerful as he was before. But he must have improved some since then. Especially since his fall to the dark side. He would have gained new powers.

I shook my head trying to clear my panicked thoughts. Right now this was getting me no where fast. I would think on this more when the time comes.

Deciding it was no longer doing me any good to hide behind these buildings, I stood, and walked out from behind the buildings, into the village square. I looked up into the sky, and saw that it must have been around four in the morning. _I must have been meditating for longer than I thought._

I heard some grunting, from what sounded like Aang. I looked over to see him tugging on Appa's reins.

"Ugh, let's go Appa! Come on boy." He pleaded as he continued to struggle. But it was apparent Appa, was not going to listen. Whatever Aang planned on doing, Appa didn't want him to leave with out the rest of us. I quickly and quietly came up behind him, without him noticing.

"Look, i'm sorry, but Jon, Katara, and Sokka aren't coming to the firenation with us." He said looking down sadly. "If they got hurt, i'd never forgive myself." He then got serious again, and went back to trying to drag Appa. "So get your big butt of the ground and let's go!" He shouted as he continued to struggle.

As he struggled and I decided, I should probably intervene, I saw that Katara, and Sokka as well as some of the other villagers, had heard the commotion to. They stood off to the side behind Appa, watching with worry.

Sokka intervened before I could. "I think his big butt is trying to tell ya something."

"Please don't go, Aang." Katara added in. "The world can't afford to lose you to the fire nation. Neither can I." She pleaded.

I chose this time to jump in. "Plus, it would be quite foolish to go to the fire nation. Especially by yourself. You would be captured for sure."

He then got up determined. "But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means. I need to get to the fire temple before the sun sets on the solstice, and that's today." He said as he jumped onto Appa's head using airbending.

As he lead Appa away, me Katara and Sokka all ran into his path. There was only one way we could help Aang, whether he liked it or not. "Were not letting you go into the fire nation Aang." Katara said. Aang looked confused for a second.

"At Least not without your friends." Sokka added in. "We got your back." Momo than chose to land on Aang's shoulder, causing him to smile. Then Appa licked Sokka covering him with saliva. "Eww!" He exclaimed causing me, and Katara to laugh.

The villager leader then walked up to Aang, carrying a pack of supplies. "It is a long journey to the crescent Island." He said as he handed the pack to Aang who took it. "You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown. Good luck."

"Thank you for your-" Aang began but was cut off.

"Go!" The leader exclaimed with urgency.

We then quickly took off on Appa. I decided this was a good opportunity to take a nap. Today was going to be a long day. I could sense that much. And I would need to be at my best. Although in Appa's saddle was not the best place to sleep. Especially when flying, there were also worse places to sleep. I layed my head back, and closed my eyes. Falling into a deep sleep.

Fog surrounded me. I couldn't see anything, though I could make out certain shapes in hiding. I felt a dark presence. It had malicious intent, and weighed down on me.

But there was light to. Something that could make me feel lighter. Feel happy, and free. Something I would want to hold close.

" _You should have joined me."_ A voice said a little to my right. I looked, and when I did, the fog cleared allowing me to see A'Sharad Hett. He was so much different than even in my vision from the night before. His skin was pale, his hair grey, his eyes a sickly yellow. Indications of his immersion in the dark side. He had fallen so far. I was saddened, and angered at the same time.

" _I won't serve the dark side!"_ I replied sternly.

" _There is darkness already in you."_ He said in almost a calm, friendly, fatherly voice. But it was anything but. His words were black and oily. _"Release your anger. It will give you power beyond your wildest dreams. Power to save your friends, and loved ones."_

" _No! I won't fall for your manipulations. You can't tempt me!"_ I almost shouted.

" _No."_ He was smirking, he walked over to my left side, where the fog there cleared as well revealing Callista. _"Not even for this."_

" _Callista!"_ I shouted. She was in rough shape. She was down on her knees, tied up by a rope. Her usual robes were tattered, and worn. She had cuts, and was bleeding in several places on her body. She had also been gagged, and her eyes which were still open, were foggy. Tear stains marked her cheeks. It broke my heart to see her like this. It also infuriated me to no end to see her this way. I tried to move forward toward her, but I was stopped by a blinding pain.

Electricity coursed through my body, and I fell to my knees. I looked up at A'Sharad to see him smiling maliciously at me. _"Give into your anger, and you will have the power to save her."_ He cooed.

I struggled for a moment, but even with this, I couldn't. If I did, I would end up just like Anakin, betraying my friends, in the end. _"I can't."_ I said weakly.

A'Sharad frowned. _"Shame."_ He said with mock disappointment. He fired electricity at me again, more intense this time then before. It lasted for a couple seconds, but it felt like hours. When it finally stopped I curled into a ball, trying to hide from the pain my entire body was in. I heard laughing, and I weakly looked back up from my place on the floor. A'Sharad had moved behind Callista who was still kneeling weakly on the floor.

He kneeled down behind her. I knew immediately what he was about to do. I rushed to my feet, but stumbled a bit. I tried to reach her but I was to slow. A red blade extended through Callista's chest. She gasped in pain.

" _NOOOO!"_ As I screamed, I fell to my knees, my arm outstretched. I barely noticed, as the fog, and everything else around me began to clear, and was blinded by a white light.

It was a couple hours later that I awoke suddenly. I breathed heavily, trying to clear my mind of the dream that had just gone by. Even now it haunted me, and all I wanted to do was lay there and cry. But I had to be strong.

There was no time for that as i felt a pang of danger in the force. I looked to the sky and saw that it was around mid day now. I must have slept for a good 9 hours, That was surprising, in and of itself. I usually wasn't able to get that much when I slept in a nice warm bed. I was never a deep sleeper. Especially since the war had started.

"Aang we got trouble." Katara suddenly said looking back behind us.

"Yeah, and it's gaining fast!" Sokka added. I looked back where they were looking to see a familiar sight. The ship that had been chasing us ever since the south pole. The ship owned by the boy, Prince Zuko. Even from on Appa, I could sense his determination. He would stop at nothing to catch Aang.

As I looked at the ship I saw a hatch open up, and a platform lift up to the top deck, with what looked to be a catapult. _Well, it appears the enemy has technology far more advanced than the rest of the world._ I thought to myself. One of the soldiers than lit the whatever it was that had been sitting in the catapult.

As they prepared to fire, I prepared to redirect the attack. I sat in a meditative position, and reached out, feeling the soldiers below. I also sensed them launch the first projectile.

"Fireball!" Katara shouted confirming what I had sensed. Before the others could react, I reached out and pushed it back. The ball stopped sailing at us, and fell back down into the water, harmlessly. I felt the others shock, and amazement. I opened my eyes to see them staring at me.

"That was amazing Jon!" Katara exclaimed coming out her shock first.

I brushed off her praise. "Well it's not like that was the first time i've done something like that."

"Guys." Aang said from his place on Appa's head. "I think we might have another problem." He pointed out in front of us, and I immediately saw what he was referring to.

"A blockade." I said with an even tone. There were hundreds of ships, moving in a way that left very little room in between, blockading any ships from entering their territory. _That's not good._

"If we fly north, we can go around the fire nation ships, and avoid the blockade." Aang said trying to come up with a new plan. "It's the only way."

"There's no time." Katara pointed out.

Aang turned back to us. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to come. It's to dangerous."

"And that's exactly why we're here." She pointed out.

I then looked to Aang coming up with my own plan on the fly. "Continue to fly, i'll try to redirect as many projectiles as I can, but make sure you watch out i'm not going to be able to stop all of them. " Aang nodded in understanding. I then turned to the others. "I would grab onto something. This is going to be a bumpy ride." They both immediately grabbed on the sides of the saddle.

I then immersed myself in the force. I would need as much focus as I could get.

"Let's run this blockade." Sokka said with confidence.

"Appa yip yip." Aang said, and I felt us go faster. But I ignored this. I could not allow outside forces to distract me. Our lives depended on me.

After a few moments, I felt it. Every ship in view of us, fired more flaming projectiles at us. The shots were wild though, they clearly didn't care if they hit Zuko's ship, which was odd, and sad. Who ever was commanding these forces must not like him very much.

I pushed these thoughts aside, and focused on the task at hand. I focused on the shots I knew for sure would hit us. I pushed them, with everything I had, and caused them all to miss us but just barely. It was difficult, and pushed me to about the limits, but I was successful.

The others panicked slightly at so much fire, but quickly let out some of the tension when they saw none of the shots would hit us.

I could sense frustration from one of the ships in front of us. As well as hate, and malice. Someone wasn't to happy.

"Aang!" I shouted. "Fly us above the cloud layer, they will have a harder time hitting us from up there."

"But what about you.?" He asked. "You won't be able to see them coming." He said worriedly.

"Don't be concerned. I do not need my eyes, to see them." I responded. This confused him slightly. But he complied and flew us above the cloud layer.

Just as we got above the clouds I sensed them launch another vollie of fireballs at us. I again used the force to redirect the attacks. Again it was difficult. Perhaps more difficult than before. But by trusting in the force implicitly I managed to push the flaming projectiles away.

Again the projectiles flew by us, some getting pretty close, but none hitting us. My friends again were filled with, shock and awe. Though I had to remember to not let this go to my head. _Don't want my ego getting as big as Sokka's._ I thought jokingly to myself.

They quickly shot a fourth volley at us, though it was more erratic than before. Possibly because they could no longer see us up above the clouds, and as such the third wave was much easier to deter. Though after such deep concentration sweet was now coating my brow. It had been difficult but thankfully after the third wave they stopped firing, and we quickly flew by.

After I could sense we were far enough away, that we were out of range, I told Aang, we could come back down. "Ok Aang, we should be safe now." We then lowered to see that the blockade was far behind us.

We all relaxed, and I finally opened my eyes. The others were all staring at me in awe.

"How did you do that?" Aang asked amazed. "You didn't even have to see them coming. It was almost like you knew where they were before they were there."

"Through the force, I can sometimes sense danger, before it appears. I could sense where the projectiles would come from, and acted accordingly. I allowed the force to guide me. It showed me the way, and all I had to do, was trust it." I explained.

"From the way you describe it, it's almost like this force can think for itself." Katara said.

"Yeah." Sokka added in. "It's not some kind of spirit is it? I thought you said the force was some kind of energy field or whatever."

"It is. But the force has a will. It works in mysterious ways. I as a Jedi, am a humble servant of the force. It whispers to us, calls to us. Not all completely understand it. But it is there to guide us." This explanation just seemed to confuse the others. I sighed. "It's hard to explain, especially to one's who are not as connected to it, as I. And I have never been a very good teacher. But in a way, it can think for itself."

"So is it a spirit then?" Sokka asked still confused.

"I suppose one could look at it that way. But it isn't like any you or anyone else from this world would be familiar with. It is far beyond that. The force spans the entirety of the universe. And it is connected to every living being. From the largest, to the smallest. From the dumbest to the smartest. The force is there. And it always shall be." The others still looked perplexed, and they all fell silent, as they tried to digest my words.

"Well," Aang finally said, breaking the silence. "Whatever the force is, it sure helped. We made it." The others looked slightly disturbed and nervous.

"Yeah, we made it into the fire nation. Great." Sokka said.

We continued to fly in silence. The day slowly passed us by, and the sun began to fall into the west. As we all rested, becoming tired of flying, Aang suddenly perked up. "There it is!" He exclaimed. "The island where Roku's dragon took me."

We all looked, and saw it. It was a volcanic island, in the shape of a crescent. From here we could see the volcano was still quite active. Shooting molten rock into the air, as more slid down the side into the water.

We quickly found a place to land were Appa would be out of sight.

"You did it buddy. Nice flying." Aang said as he patted the bison's nose. Appa then rolled over on his side, and Katara rubbed his underside.

"Oh, you must be tired." Though for some reason when she said this, Sokka must've thought she meant him, for whatever reason.

"No, i'm good." He said as he stretched. "Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders."

"I was talking to Appa."

Sokka then became embarrassed. "Well, I was talking to Momo." I shook my head in disbelief at his poor attempt at a cover up.

After we were ready we found a path that had been carved into the stone that lead to the temple, that stood off the side of the Volcano. As we got closer we noticed, the place seemed to be very lacking in security or any people at all for that matter.

"I don't see any guards." Sokka said, voicing my own thoughts.

"The fire nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died." Katara replied. This was wishful thinking at best.

"I doubt they would just leave this place unguarded. More likely whoever is still here is staying hidden. We should all be on guard." I said. I had a very bad feeling about this, but it was for Aang. He needed this.

"It's almost sundown, we better hurry." Aang said. In response we all jumped out from where we were hiding, and quickly but carefully made our way to the temple.

As we got closer to the temple, I could feel something. The temple was filled with darkness, but there was a room, near the top. In this room there was something different. A power, but of what kind, I could not tell. It was locked behind a gate. I knew immediately this must be the where Aang would need to go.

"There is something near the top of the temple. I believe it is there that we must go." I informed the others.

"Realy? How can you be so sure?" Sokka asked.

"I have felt it." I replied simply.

"Great, more spiritual nonsense."

As soon as we entered, we came into a main room connected to hallways on all sides of the room. I also felt several presences. And they did not feel friendly. I turned back to see five old men in red robes have gathered behind us. I could tell immediately that they were firebenders. "We've got company." The others stopped at my words, and turned.

"We are the fire sages, guardians of the temple of the Avatar." The lead one said.

"Great, I am the Avatar." Aang replied innocently. He did not realize these men were not here to help us.

"We know." He said before he attempted to blast us, along with the other fire sages. I quickly raised my hands and used Tutaminis to absorb the flames. Then sent a large force wave, knocking them all flat.

"Come on, let's go." I said as we turned and ran down the nearest hallway.

"Come on, follow me." Aang said as he took off.

"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka asked.

"Nope." Was all he replied. He was about to turn a corner, when I sensed another presence in front of us.

"Wait Aang." I yelled. But he kept going anyway, only to come back at us.

"Wrong way." He yelled as he ran back past us. Another fire sage came around the corner. The others ran, and I was about to when I sensed his mind. He was not like the others. He did not have the same darkness inside. I followed my friends, although I knew this guy wasn't going to try and hurt us like the others.

"Come back!" He exclaimed.

"Guys, I don't think this guy is like the others." I tried to tell them as we ran.

Before they could reply, we ended up running down a dead end. We turned back to the lone fire sage, that had been following us.

"I don't want to fight you." He pleaded. "I am a friend." And I could tell immediately he was being honest.

"Fire benders aren't our friends." Sokka said immediately as the others prepared to attack.

"No, Sokka this guy is telling us the truth." I tried to explain. "He is different than the others. And I can sense his honesty."

"You can tell when people are lying?" Katara asked.

"Yes, I can sense that he is being honest. He does not have any foul intentions about him." I explained.

The fire sage then walked up to us, and got down onto his hands and knees in a show of respect, and subservience to Aang. "I know why you are here, Avatar." The others were shocked as they came out of their ready stances.

"You do?" Aang asked.

"Yes." He said as he got to his feet. "You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."

"How?" Aang asked skeptically. The fire sage then removed one of the many red lanterns on the wall, revealing a hole in the wall. He put his hand to it, and then released a burst of fire into it. When he did this a secret passage revealed itself. Opening so we could enter into it.

"This way." He said. Though the others still didn't seem to completely trust him.

"Find him." A voice said from down a couple of corridors.

"Guys come on, we can trust this guy, and it's our only option." I said.

"Time is running out!" He said a little frantic. "Quickly!"

The others looked to each other and nodded, then entered into the passage. Unlike the halls of the main temple, this area was completely made of rock, with small rivers of molten rock, running down small channels at the sides of the path. It was very warm in here, but that is to be expected. We were in a volcano after all.

"Avatar Roku once called this temple his home." The fire sage began. "He formed these passages out of the magma." _Impressive._

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked. _I highly doubt that. This guy can't be older than 60._

"No, but my grandfather knew him. Many generations of fire sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place."

"Is that how you knew I was coming?" Aang asked.

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku…..it's eyes began to glow." He said his voice filled with awe still over the event.

"That's when we were at the air temple." Katara added. "Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there, too."

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world." The sage finished. _So the statues glowed when he went to the avatar state, back at the air temple. There must be other places like this. And they must all be connected spiritually to the Avatar. Fascinating. Though it does ruin any attempt at secrecy we may have had._

"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the sages attack me?" Aang asked.

"Things have changed." The sage said sadly. "In the past, the sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return, but he never came."

"They were waiting for me." Aang realised.

"Don't worry Aang, it wasn't your fault.

"Yeah, don't feel bad." Sokka said, putting a hand on Aang's shoulder. "You're only a hundred years late." He said sarcastically.

I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow. "Sokka, not helping." That earned me a dirty look from Sokka, but I ignored it.

"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return." He continued to explain. "When Fire Lord Sozin began the war, my grandfather, and the other sages were forced to follow him." He then got a sad expression. "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other sages. "

"Thank you for helping me." At Aang's thanks, the sage gave a small smile.

"It takes much courage to go against what those around you believe. It is not an easy thing, but you have done the right thing, and we thank you for it." I added. He nodded to me.

We then came upon a large set of stairs. From what I could tell, they led all the way to the top.

"We'll follow these stair to the sanctuary. Once you're inside. Wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."

It was a long flight of stairs, that circled all the way up to the top of the temple. After several minutes we eventually reached the top, where the sage, who introduced himself as Shyu, opened another secret door, that led up to a large room. All around the room were large pillars, with what strange reptilian beasts holding the room up, carved into them. I was not aware of their kind, but I assumed they were just more native creatures to this world.

On the back wall, facing where we just came from there was a large door, with five different holes in it. The holes were in the shapes of different reptilian creatures, with their fanged mouths being the openings. On the other side of the door, I could sense the strange energy that I had sensed when we had first entered the temple. _This is where Aang needs to go._

"No!" Shyu exclaimed.

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang asked.

"The sanctuary doors…..there closed." He said dejected.

"Can't you just open them with firebending, like you opened that other door?" Katara asked.

"No, only a fully realised Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the sages must open the doors together, with five simultaneous fire blasts." Shyu explained.

"I could cut the doors open with my lightsaber." I mentioned, and ignited my the blue blade.

Shyu looked surprised, than shocked, and then in awe at the blade. "What is this? Are you firebending?" He asked.

"No, not firebending. I myself am not creating the blade. I would love to explain it, but we do not have the time." I explained.

He then got back to the matter at hand. "Yes, well. If it is the only way, then you may. But I would hate to ruin such a sacred place." He said regretfully.

"Wait." Sokka said suddenly. "I think i've got an idea." We all looked to him, slightly surprised, but ready to hear whatever he had to say. "Ok, i'm going to need you guys to get some things for me first."

And so we all went and got the supplies he requested, which happened to be the oil from the lamps around the room, animal skin bags, and some twine. I was pretty sure I knew what Sokka had in mind, and I wasn't sure how successful it would be. But I would just have to wait and see.

When he had what he needed, filled the bags with the lamp oil, and then tied them shut, having twine sticking out the end as a fuse. He explained that he had learned this from his father, that after you fill the animal skin casings with the oil, you light the fuse, which he had soaked in some oil, and it would produce fake firebending.

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka." Katara compimented.

Shyu looked hopeful as he added. "This might actually work." I was still skeptical, but I kept that to myself. It might work, but I didn't know.

Sokka then put the pouches inside the five holes with the twine sticking out so Shyu could light the fuses, simultaneously.

"The sages will hear the explosion, so as soon as they go off, you rush in." He said turning to face Aang. We all got into cover behind some of the large columns.

"It's almost sunset, are you ready?" Katara asked Aang.

"Definitely."

Shyu, who was still standing next to the door, shot a small burst of fire, that lit all of the fuses, so they would go off at the same time. Shyu then quickly also got behind a pillar for cover, and we all waited in anticipation.

The pouches exploded, and Aang ran forward, but to everyone's dismay, the doors had remained shut. "They're still locked!" Aang exclaimed as he pulled on the door handles, trying in desperation to get them open. After failing again he fell to his knees in dejection.

"It didn't work." Shyu said disappointed.

Aang, now got back up off the ground and started blasting the doors in anger. "Why. Won't. It. Open!" Aang exclaimed.

Katara pulled Aang back from blasting futily at the door anymore. "Aang, stop!" She commanded. "There's nothing else we can do."

"I'm sorry I put you all through this for nothing." He said dejected.

I was preparing to ask to try my lightsaber now when Sokka walked over to the doors, to inspect them. There was some pretty big scorch marks from the blast, but ultimately, it did not fool the mechanism inside the lock. "I don't get. That blast looked as strong as any firebending i've seen."

Katara then got a funny look on her face. "Sokka, you're a genius!" She exclaimed. I had no idea what she was talking about, and apparently neither did Aang.

"Wait. How is Sokka a genius?" Aang asked confused. "His plan didn't even work."

"Come on Aang." Sokka said smugly as he leaned against the door. "Let her dream."

"Your right, Sokka's plan didn't work. But it looks like it did." Katara explained. I was starting to catch on to what she was saying.

"Did the definition of genius change in the last hundred years?" Aang asked still confused.

Katara's plan turned out to be quite simple, but at the same time, ingenious. While we all hid, Shyu would go get the other sages. Once up here, he would show them the scorch marks, and then the shadow of Momo, who we had crawl through the pipes into the room. They would then use firebending to open the doors, allowing Aang to enter, as we ambushed the other sages.

It was risky, but if it worked, then it should give Aang the opportunity to do what he needed to do.

We watched from our hiding spots, as Shyu led the other sages into the room, and showed them the 'evidence' of Aang being inside. Suddenly, I felt a pang of warning in the force. I reached out, and felt several presences approaching. One was much closer than the others, which were following a ways behind the first.

The other presences I didn't recognise, the only thing I knew was that they were mostly firebenders, and that they weren't friendly. But the one closer to us. I recognised. It was Zuko. He must have continued to follow us. I could feel his determination. He wasn't going to let anything get in his way.

I would have to keep my knowledge of him a secret for now. Once we made our move, then I would stop Zuko.

A blast was heard, and I turn back to the door to see that the the sages have just shot fire at the door, and it is opening. To their dismay they see that it is not in fact the Avatar, but only Momo.

"It's the Avatar's lemur." The lead one said. "He must have crawled through the pipes. We've been tricked!" Momo then jumped at him and started clawing at his face, while Sokka, Katara, and Shyu incapacitate the others. As they are doing this, I turned just as Zuko was about to reach Aang.

I reach out with the force, and push him back against the far wall, and pinned him there. I turned to Aang with my arm still extended to see him looking at me with surprise. "Go Aang. Don't worry about us. Just what you have to do." I told him.

He nodded, and then quickly ran inside. Just as he got inside, I used the force to close the doors. As soon as they were closed, a bright light shone through the door. As the light stopped shining, I felt another pang of warning in the force.

Just as I turned back to Zuko, he shot fire at me from the mouth, forcing me to dodge out of the way, and drop him back to the floor.

I heard shouts, and turned to see the sages had gotten the upper hand on my friends, and are now restraining them. Before I can do anything. The lead one held two fingers to Katara's throat, and a second one was doing the same to Sokka. Silently threatening to firebend, and kill my friends if I don't surrender.

I regretfully held my hands up in surrender, not wanting them to hurt my friends. Another of the sages comes over and restrained me, while Zuko took my lightsaber from my belt. Without anyone noticing, I used the force to flip an internal switch with in the hilt. This would stop anyone from turning on the blade without flipping the switch back, which was impossible to do without the force, or opening it up to do so.

Sokka, Katara, and I then were chained to one of the columns, while they held Shyu off to the side, in the middle of the room with his hands tied behind his back. Zuko, using his free hand, along with the other sages, tried to firebend to unlock the door again. But nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?" Zuko cried. "It's sealed shut."

"It must have been the light. Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside." Explained the lead sage.

I could sense from the other room another presence. It was strong, powerful, and had the feel of one of the presences from the southern air temple. Avatar Roku had finally come.

Zuko then looked to my lightsaber that was still in his hand. Then looked at me and demanded. "How do you use this?"

I gave him a sly smile. "Well I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" This just earned me a furious glare from him, as he tried to figure it out. He tried many things, firebending, shaking it, hitting it, he even got the idea to hit the activation switch. Luckily I had already made turning it on impossible.

Frustrated, he hung it on his belt, and went over with the other sages to interrogate Shyu. "Why did you help the Avatar?"

Shyu looked down. "Because it was once the sages duty. It is still our duty."

Clapping was then heard from the other side of the room, looking over I saw several fire nation soldiers, being lead by a man with strange looking facial hair. He also had his hair in a topknot, and a sash going over his top armor.

The leader was the one who was clapping. These were the others I had felt earlier. It was clear that this man had no good intentions in his heart what so ever. Both from his presence and the evil glint in his eye.

"What a moving and heartfelt performance." He said. "I'm sure the fire lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him." He said almost mockingly.

The other sages bowed to the man, as the lead one said "Commander Zhao." Zuko looked utterly shocked, to see this man. And I could tell neither of them liked each other one bit.

"And, prince Zuko," Zhao continued. "It was a noble effort, but your little smoke screen didn't work." Zuko was tense, and from what I could sense he was furious, that this man had followed him.

"Two traitors in one day." He said as one of the soldiers came from behind to restrain him. "The fire lord will be pleased."

As the soldier restrained him Zuko struggled and shouted. "You're too late, Zhao. The Avatar's inside, and the doors are sealed." _Why is he arresting Zuko? Aren't these guys on the same team?_

"No matter. Sooner or later, he has to come out." As the soldiers that had Zuko were leading him to another column to be chained to Zhao spotted my lightsaber. He stepped in their path, and then grabbed the hilt from his belt, and eyed it.

"What's this?" He asked mockingly. "A new toy."

"Why don't you ask him?" Zuko said gesturing towards where me, Sokka, and Katara who were still chained to the pole. Zhao got an evil smirk on his face.

He then walked over to us, still eyeing me. He stopped in front of me still smirking, and asked. "So who are you then...boy?" He thought he would try to tick me off. Well, I would throw it back in his face.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I said with a mischievous smirk.

He lost his grin for a moment. "A smart mouth eyy?" The smirk returned then as he smacked me across the face, causing Sokka, and Katara to protest with concern.

I turned back to him again, still smirking mischievously. "I'm sorry, did I upset you?" He smacked me again, across the other cheek this time. "Guess so." I said as I looked back to him again. He looked about ready to go at it again. But then he stopped. He then turned back, and walked a few feet away. I looked over to notice, that the soldiers had tied Shyu to our column.

"So what is this anyway?" He asked, as he turned on his heel looking back at me, holding up the hilt of my blade. "I've heard rumors about a boy traveling with the Avatar, with a 'sword of flame'. And I'm assuming this is it."

I smirked even more than. "Yup, you want to see how it works?" As soon as I said this I flipped the switch again, and activated the the blade using the force. It just barely missed hitting Zhao in his ugly face. Just singing his mutton chops. I then pulled the blade to me, and used it to cut our chains. As soon as we were free, I sent a large force wave at them, sending them all flying.

I turned back to my friends, who were looking bewildered at the sudden turn of events. "Stay behind me." I told them. "We need to hold this door way until Aang is done." Before they could respond, I turned back to fire nation soldiers. Most of them were still in a daze, but Zhao, and some of the soldiers were on there feet.

Zhao did not look pleased. Not in the slightest. "You're going to pay for that you little smart mouth." I raised my lightsaber. Zhao started launching a flurry of fireballs in my direction.

Shyu, was at my side prepared to help me. He helped fend of some of the fire the soldiers, and the sages sent our way, but he could only fight so many at once.

Thankfully for him though, it appeared my friends were not going to listen to me as they went to help him. I shook my head at their recklessness. Though who wasn't to say I wouldn't do the same in their position.

I ran towards the wall opposite the door, either avoiding hits, or using Tutaminis to block them. It was difficult, especially since I was still new to Tutaminis, and there was more than one person shooting fire in my direction. But luckily fire wasn't one of the harder things to block, or redirect using the ability.

The more shots I blocked or that missed, the angrier it seemed Zhao got, and the angrier he got, the more he lost his self control, and the wilder his shots became. Luckily for him though, he had back up. The other soldiers had gotten up, and were now firing at me to, which didn't help. And they were slowly advancing. It was also difficult to get close with so much fire being shot my way, especially to deal a blow with my weapon so i improvised.

I threw my lightsaber, guiding it with the force. It managed to hit several troops, slicing right through their armor, like a hot knife through warm butter. This left the sages to fight Shyu, and only two soldiers, and Zhao to fight me. I tried to called my lightsaber back to my hand, but was distracted when the remaining troops, and Zhao concentrated all of their firepower at me with one concentrated blast.

They cornered me. I was forced to use Tutaminis to protect myself, but the concentrated fire made it more difficult. Sweet trickled down my brow slightly from the effort.

I felt a searing pain from my left side, and I hissed in pain. I looked to see some of the fire had gotten through, I quickly redoubled my efforts to keep more from getting in. Though this was looking hopeless. I couldn't just sit here, eventually my concentration would break, and then I would be toast.

Suddenly though the fire stopped. I looked up slightly confused, only to see they had rushed over to the door to the room Aang had entered. It was slowly opening. Inside the only thing besides the darkness were a pair of white glowing eyes. It had to have been Aang, and he had gone into the Avatar state.

"Fire!" Zhao shouted.

"No!" Katara screamed as the few that were left fired into the doorway. But it didn't hit the target. It wrapped into a ball. And when it cleared, it showed an old man, slightly glowing, and appearing to be in the Avatar state.

"Avatar Roku." Shyu stated in awe. Roku then shot the fire back, knocking the fire nation soldiers flat, and melting the chains still around Zuko. He immediately bolted. As did the other fire nation soldiers, and sages.

"Avatar Roku is going to destroy the temple." Shyu told us. After we gathered near one of the pillars. "We have to get out of here!"

"Not without Aang." Katara said back.

I looked back to Roku. He bent a rift in the floor using magma from the passages below. The whole building was shaking due to the thermal activity being caused by Roku. In the commotion Shyu disappeared. He must have run out of fear for his life.

More lava shot up out of the floor in random spots around the room. Luckily none of it hit us. Suddenly it stopped. There was a strong gust of wind, and when I turned back again, all that was there was Aang, who had collapsed on the floor.

Me, Sokka, and Katara ran over to support him.

"We got your back." Sokka said.

"Thanks." Aang replied weakly. "Wears Shyu?"

"He ran in fear. The building is collapsing. So we better leave to." I said.

When we got to the staircase, but to our horror it had been completely filled with lava. The only way out was a massive hole in the wall. But it was quite high up. Not to mention the ground was covered in molten rock.

"Oh dear." I commented. We then heard a familiar groan. We turned to see Momo flying towards us followed closely by Appa. When he got near we quickly slipped down onto Appa, and he flew away from the collapsing building.

As soon as we were away, flying back east away from the setting sun I looked back. The building had now completely collapsed, and was melting in the lava that was pouring out all over. Just off shore, I could see the ship that Zhao had most likely come in. There was no sign of Zuko though.

"That was to close." I commented as I look back at the others.

"I'll say." Sokka replied. "I hope whatever it was we came for was worth it."

"It was." Aang replied. "I spoke to Roku." He looked down sadly.

"What happened?" I asked concerned. "What is it he told you?"

"There's going to be a comet that comes by the end of next summer, and that comet is going to give the firebenders unbelievable strength. They would be unstoppable. Roku said I have to master all four elements and defeat the firelord by then." He said. He looked almost hopeless when he said this, and there was good reason. Mastery of anything was difficult, especially to do in less than one year. But to master three different bending disciplines in that time could be nearly impossible.

"That will take unbelievable determination, and commitment." I said. Aang looked sad. He didn't believe he could do it. "But that does not make it impossible." I added trying to help him believe in himself.

"You can do this Aang." Katara added. "We'll be with you all the way."

"Really?" He asked.

"You've got that right buddy." Sokka said, adding his own support, as he wrapped his arm around Aang's shoulders. He got a determined, smile as we flew off toward the rising moon.


End file.
